The New Dynasty
by CubbiesFan1
Summary: Dr. Quest's past has come back to haunt him and now he must fight to save those that he loves. Will he succeed or will the horrors overtake him? This is a Revised version of my old story...please R
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: 3/30/2010. I just returned to this story after a very long break and while reviewing the previous chapters I noticed all my page breaks were missing which can seriously hinder the flow of the story. So I am going back and correcting those in the document manager. However, it is slow going and as late as it is tonight I only got the first two chapters done. So please, bear with me while I clean this up to make it easier to read for any new readers and old readers for that matter. :-) Thanks and I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or any characters associated with the show. I am not making any money off of this.

Author's Notes: This is a revised version of Chapter 1. I corrected some grammatical and spelling errors and I added on to the crime scene section at the end. I did not feel that I had truly gotten the point across to my readers on where I was going, so I felt an expansion of that scene was necessary.

**The New Dynasty**

**Chapter 1**

**By: Sigokat**

Jonny sat in his car and waited. School had just ended for the day and he was looking forward to making it home in order to prepare for the big party celebrating the football team's championship season later that night, but he had promised Jessie that he would wait for her. As each minute ticked by and Jessie did not appear Jonny began to feel aggravated. Taking a deep breath Jonny let it out slowly. He tried desperately not to get annoyed with Jessie' behavior, but as each day wore on and her mood remained the same, or on some days sank deeper, Jonny felt his nerves were finally beginning to fray. He wanted to be supportive, but Jessie was just too stubborn for her own good. Jonny knew why Jessie was acting the way she was; three weeks ago her father, Race Bannon, began dating a woman he had met in town. Jonny couldn't blame him, after all he was a man, and he had needs just like everyone else, but Jonny's feelings for Jessie had also begun to blossom and now Jonny found himself in a precarious situation where he was torn between supporting the man who was his bodyguard and almost like a second father to him, or siding with Race's daughter, who Jonny was beginning to realize he might just be in love with.

As Jonny contemplated his situation he saw a group of teenagers, led by the football team's captain, heading his way towards the student parking lot. Jonny rolled down his window and leaned out of the car.

"Hey, Chad, you guys see Jessie in there?" He asked once the group was close enough to hear him.

Shaking his head Chad, the team captain, replied. "No, we didn't see her. Why you waiting for her anyways? Doesn't she have her own wheels?"

Jonny frowned as he remembered how in a fit of anger Jessie crashed her new car into a light pole only two miles from the Quest home last week. Race had been livid and subsequently banned his daughter from driving indefinitely. Race had even gone as far as to cut up Jessie's driver's license right in front of her. Jonny shuddered as he remembered how the rest of that evening had played out.

"No, her car's in the shop." He lied with a grin; it was actually in the junk yard. "Thanks anyway, I'll just call her."

"Alright, man. See you two tonight at the party?" Chad asked.

Jonny nodded, "Yeah, we'll be there for sure."

"Cool." Chad replied and headed off to catch up with his group of friends.

Jonny sighed as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket, but stopped as he heard the double doors that Chad and his entourage had just came through moments before slam open. Turning his attention to the sound Jonny saw a blaze of fiery red hair swirling in the wind as Jessie Bannon stomped in his direction.

Jonny shook his head and did his best to suppress the grin that had formed on his face before Jessie got to the car.

Moments later the passenger door of Jonny's new Honda was wretched open and after tossing her book bag into the back seat Jessie plopped down in the passenger seat and slammed the door.

"Hey." Jonny exclaimed. "Be careful. The car didn't do anything to you."

"Just drive, Quest." Jessie grunted as she buckled her seatbelt.

"Why were you late?" Jonny asked as he started the car and backed out of his spot.

"Mrs. McKenzie wanted to have a talk about my attitude." Jessie explained.

"What did you do this time?"

Jessie turned towards the boy and glared at him. At that moment Jonny would have sworn that he could hear his blood transforming to ice; he immediately regretted his last question. "What makes you think I did something?"

"Well…" Jonny started, but decided it best not agitate her any further.

"Everyone things that this is all my fault, when it's not." Jessie announced as Jonny pulled the car onto the highway heading home.

"Whose fault is it, Jess?" Jonny asked, but he kept his eyes on the road ahead of him; he didn't dare look over at his friend.

"You know damn well whose fault it is, Jonny. Don't play dumb. It's that woman's." Jessie spat the last word as if just saying it made her ill.

Jonny sighed. He hadn't wanted to get into this now, but Jessie was pulling him in. "Jessie, maybe if you just give her a chance…"

"She's not good enough for my dad. She's manipulated him. You know the last time they went out he didn't come home till five in the morning." Jessie exclaimed.

Jonny bit back his response. He had become an expert on when Jessie was baiting him and now was one of those times; she was waiting to see how he would respond. Jonny wished the car could sprout wings so they would already be home and he wouldn't have to be a part of this conversation; as it was he did find himself pressing the accelerator a little harder.

"You know he's going out with her again tonight." Jessie said when it was obvious Jonny was not going to reply.

"Well, we won't be around to see her since we have a party to get to. So don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it?" Jessie shot back. "You men are all the same, always supporting one another."

Jonny rolled his eyes and prayed that Jessie didn't catch the move. "Jess, all I'm saying is that Race is human."

Jessie grunted but did not reply. Jonny said a silent prayer in hopes that the conversation was over for now. The rest of the journey played out in silence and soon Jonny was pulling up in front of the house. He had barely put the car in park before Jessie was out the door and headed towards the entrance.

"Hey." Jonny yelled at her as he quickly climbed out of the vehicle.

Jessie ignored him and stormed into the house, slamming the door behind her.

Jonny shook his head as he watched her go. He wished Hadji was here; Hadji had a natural gift in easing any tension that built within the family and right now his expertise could be greatly employed. But Hadji was not here, he was back in India and he would be there for the next couple months. No, Jonny was alone in dealing with Jessie and her issues. He only hoped he'd figure out the right thing to do.

-------------

At six o'clock Jonny headed down to the kitchen, but first he stopped by Jessie's room. Banging on the door, he hollered. "Jess, come on, it's almost time to go."

Jessie did not reply, but Jonny could hear shuffling noises from inside the room. At least she was moving about. Jonny decided it best to leave her for a few minutes so he headed down to the kitchen.

Doctor Benton Quest, Jonny's father, stood leaning against the kitchen counter, a cup of coffee in his hand. Race was seated on one of the stools that flanked the massive island in the center of the room.

"Hey, dad." Jonny said as he headed for the refrigerator.

"I thought you said you weren't hungry." Doctor Quest replied.

"I'm not and there will be food at the party." Jonny said as he grabbed a can of soda and popped the top.

"Where's Jessie?" Race asked when his daughter did not appear behind the young man.

Jonny shrugged as he took a swig of the cola. "She's still getting ready. You know how women are."

"I heard that, Hotshot." Jessie said as she pushed her way through the door of the kitchen. Jonny smiled when he saw her. She had decided to leave her hair down, the way Jonny loved it, and her emerald green eyes shone with a brilliance that Jonny had only seen a few times before. The black dress that hugged her athletic frame complemented the rest of her features and Jonny felt his heart skip a beat as he took in the young woman's beauty.

"Well, we better get going." Jonny said as he chugged the last of his soda before tossing the can in the recycling bin.

"I want you home by midnight, Jessie." Race said as he watched his daughter's rigid movements. She was still upset with him, but no matter what he did the girl would not give in; Race attributed her attitude to the stubbornness that she must have inherited from her mother.

Jessie eyed her father as she stood next to Jonny. "And what time are _you_ going to be home, dad?"

Race felt his temperature rise at the snide comment from his daughter. He even saw Benton flinch visibly from the comment. "Listen, Jessie, you're only sixteen. You have no right…"

"Save it, dad." Jessie shot back, cutting her father off. "I'll be home whenever I feel like it." Without giving her father a moment to respond Jessie stormed out of the kitchen; moments later the house shook as Jessie slammed the front door of the house shut during her dramatic exit.

Jonny cringed as he saw Race's face flush with anger. "It's alright, Race. I'll take care of her. We'll be home before midnight."

Jonny watched as the man relaxed, but not completely. He could still see the veins in his bodyguard's neck that always seemed to enlarge whenever he was upset.

"Fine." Race replied. "I'm counting on you, Jonny."

Jonny winked at the man, grabbed his keys from the island and headed off after Jessie.

After the kids had gone, Race held his head in his hands and Benton watched as the man clenched his fingers through his short white hair. "She'll get over it, Race. Just give her some time."

"How much time does she need?" Race asked without looking up.

"She'll be fine, Jonny will look after her. I am confident in that." Benton replied as he sipped his coffee.

Race looked up at the man and nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

"You better get ready yourself, Race. You wouldn't want to keep your date waiting as well." Benton smiled.

Race stood. "So what are you plans tonight, Doctor? Besides Bandit, you have the place to yourself."

"A rare occurrence indeed." Benton said as he refilled his mug. "I'll probably catch up on some work and then relax until the kids come home."

Race nodded, "Sounds like a blast. Have fun." He teased and then headed off to get ready for his own date.

Benton settled into the large sofa in the family room of the Quest Mansion and flicked on the television. After spending a few hours on his latest experiment he had found himself starting to nod off and decided to call it a night with work. Now with a few hours left until he expected Jonny and Jessie to be home he wanted to catch up with the latest news. As he flipped through the channels he finally settled on CNN which was currently at commercial. Heading to the kitchen he decided to refill his coffee mug, even though he knew he shouldn't have been drinking coffee so late at night, but tonight he did not mind. The soft padded steps of Bandit's footfalls were right behind the older man and as they entered the kitchen the dog began to whine.

"What is it, boy?" Benton asked the dog as Bandit sat down next to him.

Benton looked around and saw that the little dog's food dish was empty. "Are you hungry, Bandit?"

Bandit's tail immediately began to wag and his tongue hung from his mouth as if in anticipation of the upcoming meal.

Benton chuckled at the dog's response. "I thought so."

He headed over to the cabinet where Bandit's food was kept, but his attention was drawn to the sounds of the television in the other room. Momentarily forgetting the dog, Benton headed back to the living room and stared at the screen as a breaking story was unfolding.

"This just in," The news reporter announced as the images transferred to a live broadcast. "What appears to be a multiple homicide has taken place in an upscale Washington D.C. neighborhood tonight. Authorities are releasing very little details at this time, but we have learned that at least two men appear to have been murdered. Doctor Harold Steinbeck has been identified as one of the victims and another man, as yet unidentified is also dead. Federal authorities are on the scene and they have not yet released any details about what as taken place in this home tonight. Doctor Steinbeck was unmarried and was a contractor for the federal government. We will update this story as more details arise."

Benton continued to stare at the television in disbelief. His mouth had gone dry and his hands were gripping the back of the sofa so tightly that the pain in his fingers finally wrenched him from his daze. His heart felt like it had dropped into his stomach and he had to force himself to sit down as his head began to swim.

"No." Benton said aloud. "No, this can't be happening."

-------------

Jonny glanced at his watch and realized it was getting late. He would have preferred to stay at the party since he was having a blast with his friends, but as the realization of the late hour struck him, he remembered that he had promised Race he would have Jessie home by midnight; and now was not the time to get on Race's bad side.

Glancing around the room, Jonny realized he hadn't seen Jessie in some time. Cursing himself inwardly he set down his drink and turned to his friend Chad.

Having to lean in close to the other teen as to be heard over the thumping of the music, Jonny got his friend's attention and asked, "Hey, Chad, have you seen Jessie lately?"

Chad grinned at his friend and replied. "Last I saw she headed outside with a few others. Jeez, Quest, that was like three hours ago, what have you been doing?"

"Damnit." Jonny mumbled. He hadn't realized he had been away from her for so long. Pushing his way through the crowd of high-schoolers Jonny made his way to the back of the house and out onto the back porch. As winter slowly approached the temperature had been dropping and Jonny shivered at the blast of cold air that struck his face as he stepped outside.

Glancing around the deck he saw two people that he did not recognized sitting on one of the deck chairs; they were engaged in some rather intimate kissing. Jonny didn't care, he had to find Jessie and get back home.

"Hey you guys know Jessie Bannon?" Jonny asked as he stepped up to the necking couple.

The fact that the two teens were displeased with being interrupted was not lost on Jonny, but he ignored their obvious annoyance.

"Yeah, but as you can see she ain't here." The young man replied.

"You see where she went?" Jonny asked as his teeth began to clatter together.

The boy rolled his eyes and pointed towards the pool. "She's down that way Saw her and a couple other people head down there awhile ago."

"Thanks." Jonny replied and headed off towards the pool.

He caught sight of her hair first and Jonny wanted to kick himself for allowing her to sneak off without him. Jessie sat around a table with two other boys and two girls and all were currently engaged in what appeared to be some sort of drinking game.

Jonny stormed over to his friend and grabbed her arm. "Jessie, what the hell are you doing?"

"Let go, Quest." Jessie slurred as she tried to yank her arm free; the alcohol in her system combating the effects of the cold night air.

"Damnit, you're drunk." Jonny said which elicited a burst of laughter from the other kids at the table.

"Lighten up, Jonny." One of the boys said. "She'll be fine."

Ignoring the boy Jonny hauled Jessie to her feet. "I don't know who your dad is going to kill first you or me. Let's go."

"I don't care about him." Jessie said as Jonny hauled her off. "I hope he never comes back."

"Don't say that, Jessie." Jonny said as he wrapped an arm around her waist to help her keep her footing.

"I mean it, Jonny." Jessie replied as she staggered along; Jonny tightened his hold around his friend's waist as it was painfully obvious that she would not be able to walk on her own. Jonny wondered just what Jessie had been drinking and how much of it as well.

"That's just the alcohol talking."

Jessie replied by sticking her tongue out at her rescuer. "You would side with him."

"Jessie, stop. Hopefully we can get you inside the house without either of our dads finding out."

"I want him to know. I want the mighty Race Bannon to see what he's done to his daughter." Jessie shouted, trying to pull away from Jonny as they reached the car.

"Stop it, Jessie." Jonny glared as he helped her into the passenger seat.

"I hate him." Jessie stated firmly as Jonny got in behind the wheel of the car.

"Don't say that, Jessie. You don't mean that."

"Yes I do, Jonny. I hate him." Jessie reaffirmed and then suddenly burst into tears.

Jonny started the car and pulled away. He really couldn't stand dealing with women at this point in his life.

--------------

Special Agent Philip Corbin hated reporters; they always seemed to know what was happening before the official authorities did; and the fact that they would go to any length just for a story rattled his cage to no end; especially now, especially with this case.

Phil exited the passenger side of the I-1 sedan and met with Special Agent Roberts at the front of the vehicle. Jamming his hands in his coat pockets Phil hunched his shoulders against the brisk air that attempted to sap any body heat that he still retained.

"What do you think?" Roberts asked. The two men had ridden to the crime scene in silence, but now that they had arrived curiosity began to itch at the younger agent.

Phil shrugged, "I don't know." But in fact he did know, or at least he had a damn good idea what to expect when he crossed the threshold of the house.

The inside of the house felt at least ten degrees colder then the outside. Corbin and Roberts followed one of the local police officers through the house till they reached the kitchen. As soon as the scene entered his eyes Corbin knew it this death was related to the others.

Roberts glanced at his superior when he noticed the man visibly shudder. "You alright, Sir?"

Corbin nodded, "Just a chill."

"It is rather cold in here, almost as if the air conditioning is turned on, but in the middle on November?"

"The air conditioning is not on." Corbin replied through pursed lips. Mindful of his steps he moved through the kitchen and over to the body. The I-1 forensics team was still working the scene so Phil kept his distance as best he could. He found that he was grateful that the teams were still working, it meant that he did not have to examine the body any closer that this moment. But he didn't need to, Corbin already knew what state the corpse would be in.

"Roberts," Corbin addressed the other agent as he turned his attention to the rest of the kitchen. "There were two agents assigned to Doctor Steinbeck, any word on Agent Holton whereabouts?"

"No, Sir, but the locals have already marked off their vehicle and conducting a search of the surrounding area."

Corbin contemplated the information for a moment, "What could possibly bring Holton out of his vehicle on a night like this?"

Roberts stared at the other man, but had no answer. He watched as Phil blinked and then turned his attention towards the wall next to the refrigerator; Roberts was a little perplexed how his boss seemed to not only jump from fact to fact, but also that he did not seem at all surprised at the horrendousness of the crime scene.

Corbin pointed to a spot on the wall and Roberts turned around, seeing the spot for the first time upon entering the room. "What's that?" Phil asked to no one in particular.

Scrawled in what appeared to be blood, more the likely the victim's blood, were what appeared to be letters, but they were unlike any letters that Corbin had ever seen before. The blood was still fresh and some of the letters had begun to run due to gravity, but the images on the wall appeared similar to this:

**Τα Ancients έχουν έρθει. Μας φοβηθείτε.**

After the forensic team had snapped the appropriate number of photos they required and also taken a sample of the liquid the letters were written with Agent Roberts moved in for a closer look.

Corbin didn't know why, but something about the markings disturbed him; an unexplainable sense of dread welled inside him as he stared at the letters. If he hadn't known better he would have sworn that it was the letters themselves that were causing the strange feelings inside his mind and his heart.

After a few moments, Phil felt the feelings pass, but he still wanted out of the house as fast as possible just to be away from the cryptic symbols. Strangely enough, no other markings like these had been found at the previous crime scenes.

"What do you make of it, Roberts?"

Roberts shook his head as he turned to his superior. "It looks Greek, but some of the letters are wrong." He paused as he studied the phrase again. "It just doesn't make sense." Roberts mumbled.

"What do you think it says?" Corbin asked.

"Well, Sir, if I was to make an educated guess I would translate it as 'The ancients are coming. Fear Me.' But I don't speak fluent Greek."

"I don't get it." Corbin said.

"Me neither." Roberts agreed.

"Well, we can figure it out later. Come on, let's get going." Phil said and headed towards the front of the house.

As he stepped outside Phil squeezed his eyes shut. He had thought this day would never come, but now on this cold night it was upon him. This was the fifth death from the group. Phil had tried to convince himself that the previous deaths were not related, but he knew the truth in his heart. The first death was so long ago and the second took place a number of years after the first, however the last two and now Doctor Steinbeck's death has all taken place in a time span of only two months. Phil had tried to convince himself early on that it was just coincidences, but the sudden frequency of the murders and the similar fashions of the actual deaths, with the exception of the first, told him that they were related, he just didn't want to admit it. Now there was only one remaining member, Doctor Benton Quest. He would be next unless they discovered a way to save him, but Phil had no idea how to stop the force that was currently working against them. Not many things could scare a man like Philip Corbin, and even though Phil had never laid eyes on the perpetrator he was still terrified.

Even though Doctor Quest knew of the threat he may not have known that his former co-workers were being murdered. Benton was next on the list and he had to be warned. Phil pulled his phone out of his coat pocket and called in an emergency flight; he was headed to Maine.

To Be Continued…

_Author's Notes: Well I hope you all like…please read and review for me and I hope to have the next chapter up soon._

_**Also, for any that speak Greek or are curious about the phrase or know about the phrase PLEASE DO NOT say anything about it in a review (if you leave one). There is a reason that the phrase is what it is and that the dialogue between Roberts and Corbin is what it is. (I don't want to say more and ruin anything)**_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or any characters associated with the show. I am not making any money off of this.

Author's Note: This chapter has been updated and revised as well.e

**The New Dynasty**

**Chapter 2**

**By: Sigokat**

Jessie groaned as she squinted against the morning light that was pouring into her bedroom through the window. As much as it pained her to open her eyes she forced herself to do so and to sit up at the same time. A wave of nausea coursed through her body and she had to bite down hard to steady herself; the pounding inside her head grew stronger by the second. Jessie Bannon was hung over. She pushed her sheets aside and made her way, slower then usual, towards her private bathroom.

"I'm never drinking again." Jessie muttered to her haggled reflection in the mirror. Her stomach made itself known, but just the thought of eating made her nauseous once again.

"I'll feel better after a hot shower." Jessie told herself as she readied the water and set it as hot as her body could stand. "Then perhaps some food."

* * *

Doctor Quest had spent the majority of the night staring at the ceiling of his bedroom; sleep had become a foreign concept to the scientist. Every creak that emanated from the house had caused Benton to shoot straight up in bed in an uneasy fit of nervousness and anxiety; each gust of wind sounded like the crying moans of a dying friend pleading with Benton for help with his last dying breath. Sleep had eventually returned and Benton had managed to pass a few hours without the inclusion of dreams.

He woke before his alarm and did not feel one bit rested. With exhaustion still looming over his body Benton had showered, dressed, and had headed downstairs to prepare breakfast. The night before he had heard Jonny and Jessie return, but had not yet heard the low frequencies of the exhaust system that adorned Race's new Mustang. Before starting on breakfast, Benton made a quick check of the driveway and confirmed that Race had not yet come home. He shook his head at the thoughts of the conversations that would ensue once the burly bodyguard did eventually return.

As the kitchen filled with the aroma of freshly brewing coffee Benton heard movement upstairs and knew the kids were finally awake. It would still be some time before the two of them made it down for breakfast so he did not rush in the preparation of the food.

As he reached into the refrigerator for a cartoon of eggs his attention was drawn to the beeping of the security monitor that stood on the corner of the counter. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and he found his hands had begun to tremble.

'_Relax, Benton.'_ He told himself as he turned to check the monitor. _'If whoever it is was here to kill me I doubt he would bother waiting to be buzzed in.'_

As Benton looked at the monitor he suddenly realized he had been holding his breath. With a deep exhalation he relaxed and hit the buzzer to open the gates.

* * *

Jessie only felt a slight improvement in her physical well-being as she headed down to the kitchen. As her nostrils took in the heavy scent of brewing coffee her stomach once again decided to announce that it had not been filled in some time.

Jessie pushed through the kitchen doorway and momentarily hesitated. Jonny sat at the island, already stuffing his face with scrambled eggs and toast. His father was sipping his coffee and appeared as if he had been up all night. But then she saw her father's boss, Philip Corbin, leaning against the kitchen counter, arms crossed over his chest, a stern frown across his face. Jessie wondered what could have brought the man here so early in the morning and why no one was speaking. The fact that her father was not in the room was not lost on the teen.

"Good morning, Jessie." Doctor Quest said as the she sat down next to Jonny. "Would you care for some breakfast?"

Jessie shook her head, "I'm okay for right now, but some coffee would be nice." The pounding that had started to seep out of her skull was suddenly back and in full force.

Benton blinked at the girl's response. "You don't drink coffee."

Jessie heard the Intelligence One agent snicker. She shot the man a glance and he smirked at her, but said nothing. Jessie glared at Jonny from the corner of her eye and she saw the boy shake his head as he continued to inhale his eggs. _'If Jonny didn't say anything then how would he know why I feel this way?'_ Jessie thought in reference to Corbin's reaction.

Jessie sighed and went to the coffee pot to pour herself a cup. Whether anyone thought she should be drinking coffee or not, she wanted it and she was going to have some in hopes it would help hasten the departure of her nasty hangover.

"So what are you doing here?" Jessie asked her father's superior.

"Business as usual." Phil replied, but there was something strange in the man's voice that Jessie could not put her finger on. It bothered her, but she had no idea why.

"Well, my dad's not here." Jessie said as she sipped her coffee.

"I know." Corbin answered; his displeasure with the situation evident in his voice.

Jessie smiled inwardly at the thought; she wasn't the only person on the planet that was upset with her father.

"I just can't believe this is happening." Doctor Quest remarked to the agent; Jessie noticed the slightest tremble in the man's hands. "I mean, _how_ can it be happening?"

For the first time since Jessie had entered the kitchen she saw Jonny stop eating. He stared at his father with apparent confusion. "What's going on, dad?"

Benton shook his head, but ignored his son's question. Jonny frowned; he had seen his father in many dire circumstances, but he could not recall a time when he looked as disheveled as he did now. Something had happened last night Jonny was sure of that much; something so significant to launch his father into a state of agitation and also significant enough to bring Phil Corbin all the way from Washington D.C. Jonny hated the idea of being left in the dark, but he had a feeling that the two men were waiting for Race to make an appearance. Jonny observed Corbin, for perhaps the fifth time since he found the man in the kitchen with his father, reach into the inner pocket of his suit jacket, withdraw his phone, dial a number and after a few seconds hang up and return the phone to his pocket. Each time the man grumbled something unintelligible and Jonny could only imagine he was trying to call Race.

Jonny felt as if time had come to a halt or had taken a momentary holiday from the Quest Compound in Rockport, Maine, but the low rumble of Race's sports car broke Jonny's concentration and the aura of tension that appeared to linger over the house like an impenetrable fog.

Jonny glanced at Jessie and saw her delicate features turn harsh as she heard her father's car. Everyone in the room, with the possible exception of Corbin, had known where Race had been and Jonny could tell that Jessie was desperately attempting to hold back her anger with her father.

Silence had engulfed the kitchen and the only sounds that poured in from beyond their current location was the distinct creaks of the front door as they were opened and closed as gently as possible.

Doctor Quest's obvious anxiety prompted him to speak before anyone else. Whatever had caused the scientist to take such a drastic turn in his character was about to be revealed.

"Race we are in the kitchen." Doctor Quest announced after peeking his head through the swinging door.

Seconds later Race pushed his way through the door. "Hey, whose car is that out there?" He said, but immediately saw his superior leaning against the counter. Race didn't know why he was here, but he could tell that something had pissed the man off to no end. "Corbin what are you doing here?"

Corbin straightened as he eyed Race, but he left his arms crossed tightly over his chest. "Where have you been?"

Race smiled at the man's question, but the smile dissipated as quickly as it had appeared when he saw the seriousness in the other man's countenance. "What? I was just…"

"Yeah, dad," Jessie chimed in when she saw that her father was not going to get off the hook as easily as he had thought. "Where _have_ you been?"

Race shot his daughter a look that Jessie interpreted as _'You stay out of this._' But her defiance continue to blossom inside her as she watched her father try to example himself.

"Do you realize what time it is?" Corbin asked, but Race knew it was meant in a rhetorical manner. "Do you have any idea how long you left this family unprotected?"

Race had seen Corbin angered more times that he cared to remember throughout the two men's' histories together, but it was never like this. Race noticed the other man's eyes narrow as if suspicious of what his light brown orbs perceived and his face even turned a pale shade of red. But there was something else in the man's features and mannerisms that perplexed Race and he was unable to figure out what was bothering his superior.

"Phil, look, IRIS is the best security system in the world…" Race started.

Corbin cut the man off before he could finish, "If I had faith in this security system to adequately protect this family I wouldn't need you up here now would I, Agent Bannon?"

Race flinched at the use of his official title and suddenly felt his anger rising. Race accepted an "ass chewing" when it was called for, but now Corbin was here, accusing him of something akin to dereliction of duty and he hadn't even explained why.

"Look, Sir, if you had informed me that there was a threat then I would have been here."

"There's _always_ a threat." Corbin shot back, his voice raised in anger. "That's why you were assigned here to begin with."

Race stepped forward in obvious defiance of his superior and as the two men's faces were only inches from each other, neither backing down.

Doctor Quest saw that the situation was about to go from bad to worse and he stepped forward and physically pushed the two men away from each other. "Gentlemen, please, this isn't solving anything."

Race continued to stare down his superior and was surprised when Phil sighed and nodded to Doctor Quest. "You're right, Doctor. I don't think we have a lot of time."

Jonny couldn't take it anymore and blurted out, "What the hell is going on? Are we in some sort of danger or what?"

Benton glanced at the I-1 agent who responded with a short nod. It was obvious the two men knew what this was all about, but for some reason they were reluctant to share the details.

Benton exhaled a long sigh and spoke, "Yes, Jonny, I'm afraid we are…or at least I am."

Jonny jumped from his seat at the news of his father revealed. Race eyed his superior, but then turned his attention to Benton.

"What's going on?" Race asked.

"It's hard to explain." Benton said as he glanced at Phil. "But I guess I should start from the beginning."

Benton took a seat at the island and was joined by the rest of the household; only Phil remained standing and he had retrieved a briefcase from somewhere in the room that no one had seen until now.

"For a long time now there has been a constant threat to my life." Benton said.

"From who?" Jonny asked.

"Let me continue, Jonny, we will get to that in a minute. There are still some details that elude even me and perhaps they will come to light as the truth is revealed."

Jonny nodded and waited anxiously for his father to continue. Corbin placed the briefcase on the counter behind him and withdrew several plain manila folders which he handed to the doctor.

"A long time ago I worked on a project with scientists from all over the world. We were in the midst of the Cold War and the threat of nuclear annihilation loomed over the country. A secret government project was started and a number of the top scientists from around the world were gathered for the project."

"What was the project?" Race asked.

"That's still classified." Corbin responded.

Race glared at the man, but did not reply. He waited for Benton to continue.

"Regardless of what the project had intended it failed miserably, but not due to the lack of effort on our parts. There was an accident at one of the labs and a number of personnel were killed or seriously injured."

At this point Benton thumbed thru the folders that Corbin had handed him until he found an old black and white photograph. After staring at the photograph for a few moments, Benton placed it on the table for all to see.

The photograph showed a group of men and one woman posing for a group shot in front of what appeared to be some sort of warehouse or factory. Rolling hills dotted with pine trees rose beyond the structure in the background, but there was nothing that indicated the exact location where the photograph had been taken. All the scientists were smiling.

Jonny studied the picture for a long moment before raising his eyes back to meet his father's; their eyes locked. "Is that…mom?" Jonny asked as he pointed at the woman in the photograph.

Benton nodded, "Yes, Jonny, that is your mother. We met while working on this project together."

Benton watched his son's reaction. Jonny knew quite a bit about his mother, Rachel, but there were certain details that Benton had specifically left out in order to protect him from the pain. Benton quickly realized that he would no longer be able to shield Jonny from the truth.

Race saw the boy's reaction and knew that he would have to keep an eye on him, but even this new information was new to Race. There were things that he hadn't been told as well and that irritated him to the point of hostility once again.

Jessie studied the picture and then asked the next obvious question. She pointed to the one Asian man in the photo, "That looks like Dr. Zin, but much younger."

Corbin nodded, "That's because it is Dr. Zin."

Race tapped his fingers on the table. "This doesn't make any sense." He turned his attention to Benton. "I thought you and Zin had never met."

Benton sighed and shrugged at the same time, but he did not offer an explanation, so Race turned is attention to Phil, who, like Benton, appeared to know the full details of what was being told.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Race asked his superior.

"I'm sorry, Race, but you had no reason to know. It was privileged information."

"Privileged?" Race spat as he stood. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Corbin, undeterred by Race's sudden moves, simply shrugged. "Need to know basis."

Race shook his head and his superior's official lingo. "You didn't think it was important for me, the man guarding the Quests, to know about Benton's previous involvement with Dr. Zin? I wouldn't have been surprised by the government, or even Intelligence One, holding this information back, but I would have thought you, Phil, would have had the decency to let me know."

Benton spoke up before the agent could respond. "It's not his fault, Race. He was just acting under orders as well."

"What? Whose orders?"

"Mine." Benton replied. "There's a lot more to this story."

Jessie watched the men with keen interest as she tried to piece together the puzzle for herself. She suddenly realized that she no longer felt any ill effects from her previous night's drinking and she was full of energy due to the new problem that now faced her.

Race was dumbstruck, but returned to his seat. If there was more to the story then he would have to try to remain patient as Doctor Quest unraveled the details. Glancing at the Doctor as he sat, Race could tell the man was deeply torn with the aspects of what was being revealed. Race wondered what exactly had happened that had caused two world-renowned scientists to turn against each other.

"After the explosion the project was postponed indefinitely and eventually cancelled. We each returned to our respective countries and sweat out the rest of the Cold War in the same manner we had before the idea for the project was even conceived."

"What caused the explosion?" Jonny asked. Jessie knew that Jonny still felt the pain of the lose of his mother and now that more information in regards to her past was being revealed she could tell that her best friend was having difficulty with the sudden changes to what he had been told.

"There had been some unauthorized excavations at the site and we believe that a gas line had been punctured." Benton answered.

"Unauthorized excavations?" Race pondered. "Who was doing the digging and what were they digging for?"

"Zin was behind all of that." Benton answered. "What he was looking for I do not know, but you have to remember that Zin was a brilliant scientist, one of the best from his country. It was strange…" Benton paused and Jonny noticed that his father seemed to be looking back in time; looking back to what had taken place at that warehouse all those years ago.

When Benton did not continue, Jonny spoke up. "What was strange, dad?"

Benton blinked and came back to the present. "What? Oh, sorry. I was saying that Doctor Zin had begun to act strangely. He became withdrawn and did not associate with the rest of us. During his off time he would lock himself in his room and not come out until the next day or when it was time to come to work. But even then he began to neglect his duties, as if his mind was focused on something else."

Jessie took in all the information and was the next to speak, "Doctor Quest, did Zin's behavior change before or after the explosion?"

"Before, but not until those diggings had begun."

"Sounds to me like Zin was looking for something." Jonny added.

Jessie nodded, "True, but it actually sounds like whatever he was looking for he found and that he became obsessed with whatever it was."

"I do not know what it was that he had found. A few weeks later the explosion occurred and after all the survivors were evacuated we were not allowed to return to the site. A few days later we were informed that the project had been deemed a failure, the funding was cut, and we were sent home."

"And what of Doctor Zin?" Race asked.

"I never heard from him again until…Rachel…" Benton choked on his words and fought back the tears that he felt were welling up inside of him.

Jonny sucked in a wisp of air as he listened, his mind raced, but he thought he knew where this was headed. "Dr. Zin…" He started, but his mouth went dry as he tried to form the rest of his words. "He killed…mom?"

Benton nodded and croaked out his reply. "Yes, Jonny."

"And you've known this whole time?" Jonny asked in a low voice.

"Yes, Jonny, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I never told you, but I was afraid that if Dr. Zin was aware that you knew about his involvement that he would come after you as well."

"Did you know, Race?" Jonny asked his bodyguard.

Race shook his head and pulled his glare away from Corbin to give his attention to the young blonde haired boy whose world was suddenly turning upside down. "No, Jonny, I didn't know either."

"I was instructed not to tell you," Phil stated and for the first time since his arrival Race noticed a tone of sympathy in his voice, "You may have accidentally said something in Jonny's presence."

Race nodded his understanding back the I-1 agent.

"Ok, so, Dr. Zin was responsible for that tragic event." Jessie said and placed a comforting hand on top of Jonny's; she felt his hand tighten around hers and the warmth they shared help to alleviate some of the fear and pain that had crept into the room in an attempt to take up residence in everyone's hearts. "But I thought Dr. Zin was dead."

"Supposedly dead." Phil corrected.

"You're just full of surprises today, aren't you, Corbin?" Race said, but with a little less ice in his tone.

Corbin continued without acknowledging Race's comment. "The attack on Zin's compound a number of years ago was catastrophic to say the least and it is doubtful that anyone survived; however his body was never recovered."

"So now we are back at the present." Race said, "And you still haven't explained what brought you here to begin with, Phil."

"Last night a man was murdered in his home in Washington D.C." Corbin said. "His name was Doctor Harold Steinbeck. He worked as a contractor for the government and under the protection of Intelligence One."

"If you had men protecting this guy, how was he killed?" Jessie asked.

"It's still under investigation." Phil replied, but Jessie did not believe him. Something in his gaze showed that the Intelligence One agent knew how the man had died. "One of my men was killed as well and one is still unaccounted for."

"How is that relevant to us?" Race asked.

Benton pointed to one of the men in the photograph that had been momentarily forgotten during the ensuing conversation. "That is Harold."

As silence once again engulfed the room Race contemplated the possibilities of what was occurring. Finally, in a stern, but extremely unconvincing voice, he said, "It's probably just a coincidence."

Phil shook his head and finally stepped to the table. Leaning against the end of the table he began to explain, "Every scientist in this photograph was under Intelligence One protection. Benton is the only one that is still alive."

"But you said Dr. Zin is 'supposedly dead'." Jessie countered. "Who would want everyone in this photograph dead?"

Benton shook his head, "That's the one thing I cannot figure out. With Zin out of the picture I thought we were safe, another reason I never told any of you about this, but after I saw the report last night on Harold's death and confirmed with Phil that the others have all been murdered as well, I knew we were no longer safe. I just don't know who is behind it all."

Corbin pushed himself away from the table and immediately realized he shouldn't have done so. The dramatic move drew everyone's attention towards him.

"You know, don't you, Phil?" Race asked as he met his boss' stare.

Phil shrugged, but did not avoid the question. "I have an idea, but nothing concrete."

"Who?" Benton asked. "Who is it?"

Phil sighed as he rubbed his chin with one hand. "Dr. Zin had two daughters."

"What?" Jessie exclaimed.

Phil continued, "And presently their whereabouts are unknown."

* * *

Melana Zin paced back and forth in the front room of the small house that she and her sister currently occupied. Patience had never been one of her virtues and when she and her sister, Anaya, had decided to take up their father's plans for vengeance after he was murdered by the US Government Melana had been excited. Melana had preferred the quick and efficient methods for revenge, a bullet to the back of the head or a blade run across the victim's throat. Anaya however did not agree, at least not in the present circumstance. Their father had started something sinister and evil and after years of studying his notes and journals Anaya had discovered the correct procedures for the continuation of Zin's plots.

After arriving in the country on fraudulent documents the Zin sisters had immediately taken up residence in this small, run down area of Washington D.C.'s less attractive suburbs. The house suited them well and the neighbors all minded their own business; something the sisters were appreciative of. However, it was eight foot high privacy fence that surrounded the back yard that appealed to them. Also a small tool shed sat in the far corner of the back yard and after removing the old junk that had been stored there for countless years it served as a perfect spot to conduct the summoning.

"This is taking too long." Melana said as her sister watched the news intently.

"It is obviously working, sister, and this way we continue what father started and also keep any suspicion away from us." Anaya countered.

"You cannot be sure that they are not already on to us." Melana said as she slumped down into a chair that flanked the old and worn down couch that Anaya occupied.

"They have no evidence to use against us."

"I don't care about evidence, Anaya." Melana shot back as she jabbed a finger at the television. "You see those men? That's Intelligence One and they know full well what father was involved in."

A cruel smile spread across her lips as Anaya considered the possibilities. "Well, there is nothing that says that we must only go after those that were responsible for the injustices that father had to face."

Melana pondered the thought for a moment, it was definitely dangerous, but Melana had always thrived on danger and the prospect of killing as many of these Americans as possible truly intrigued her. "I like that idea."

Anaya nodded her approval. "And I'm sure our ally will enjoy it as well. The more blood for it to feast on the stronger it will be."

Melana's evil smile matched that of her sister's. "Well you better get started with the next ritual. Doctor Benton Quest, his family, and anyone that stands to protect them will be eliminated. This will be fun."

"Yes, sister, it will." Anaya sneered as she headed off to begin preparations.

Melana watched her sister go. Anaya had a much firmer grasp of the summoning process and Melana knew that she could not be involved in the ritual, only the presence of the one performing the ritual was allowed.

'Oh yes," Melana thought to herself 'fun indeed.'

To Be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or any characters associated with the show. I am not making any money off of this.

**The New Dynasty**

**Chapter 3**

**By: Sigokat**

Quest Mansion, Maine

An eerie sense of dread seemed to lurk over the occupants of the Quest Mansion; even Bandit did not make a sound. Doctor Quest sat in stoic silence; his own personal demons waking from a dormant sleep that the doctor had hoped would remain hidden for the rest of his life. However, as much as he had tried to hide the past, even passing off the recent deaths of his former colleagues as mere coincidences, it had finally caught up to him. Now he was the last one left and whatever it was that had killed those before him could very well be out there now, heading for him and his family. He had to stop it. On top of the gnawing dread that had suddenly took up residence in his heart, another wave of emotions fought for dominance within him; he had lied to Jonny, he had lied to his son. He had always told himself that it was for the best that Jonny not know the true nature of Rachel's death or those that were responsible for it, but a quick glance into his son's crystal blue orbs told Benton that he had made a mistake. Jonny had always had a right to know and now Benton was faced with trying to explain to his son why he had taken that right away from him. Benton could barely look the teenager in the eyes; the guilt and sorrow were too much.

"What do we do now?" Race asked. The sound of his voice slicing through the former stillness broke Benton from his thoughts.

Benton shook his head. He knew how he wanted to proceed, but he was unsure if it would be the right course of action. "Phil, you say have no idea where Zin's daughters are now?"

Phil crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. "No, Doctor, I'm afraid I have no definite information on their whereabouts at this time. What I do know is that they were admitted into the country on false credentials a number of months ago, but they became lost in the system."

"Great job on keeping track of a couple of known criminals." Race mocked.

Phil shot the man a dirty look, obviously unhappy with being accused of any sort of breach in protocol or procedure. "Last I check, Race, I do not work for the INS. Its not my job to keep track of illegal aliens entering this country and if it was I sure as hell would have sent up some red flags when these two showed up."

"Well…" Race started.

Jessie cut in before the two men could engage in another heated exchange. "Regardless of what happened it seems logical to assume that they are here, in our country, and are somehow involved in these deaths."

Her statement seemed logical and it also had the desired effect of bringing the group back together. She stole a quick look at Jonny and saw that her best friend still appeared to be in a state of shock. Whether or not he had even heard the latest exchange, Jessie could not be certain.

Doctor Quest stood and looked at the group. "We need to act. If Zin's daughters are in fact coming after this family we need to be prepared for whatever it is that they have sent after the others." Here he looked at Corbin. "I want to head back to D.C. with you immediately in order to inspect the crime scene. Has an autopsy already been preformed on Har…Doctor Steinbeck?"

"It's scheduled for later this evening, but I can have it postponed until your arrival if you wish to be present."

Benton nodded his agreement. "Then that is how we will proceed. Phil and I will leave immediately…"

Race shot out of his seat and cut in on the scientist's next statement. Race knew where Benton was headed and he was not about to let this happen. "No way, Benton. If one person in this family leaves then we all leave. If there really is someone or something out there hunting this family then it makes sense for us all to stay together."

Jonny, finally speaking for the first time since taking in the new information in regards to his mother's murder, added, "Race is right, dad. There's no way you are leaving us behind; not this time. We need to be ready for anything."

Jonny wanted to add that he was ready to make the remaining members of the Zin family pay for his mother's death, but he knew that if he showed his true emotions his father would be watching him like a hawk; and right now Jonny needed to have the leeway to act on a moments notice.

Benton sighed, but knew that there was no point in arguing. "Alright, everyone be ready to leave within the hour. Time is of the essence now."

"Agent Roberts is waiting with the plane at the landing strip a few miles from here." Corbin said. "I'll make sure that he has it ready to go in an hour so we can leave immediately once we arrive at the airstrip."

Without another word, Corbin gathered up the documents he had previously handed to Benton and after securing them all back in his briefcase he headed out the door to make the necessary calls.

"Alright," Benton announced, "Be ready to go in an hour."

---------------

Anaya Zin retrieved the worn, but immaculately preserved text from its secret hiding place in the small house that she and her sister currently occupied. The book was extremely old and heavy and Anaya took great care whenever she handled the ancient text.

The book had been given to Anaya and Melana by their father while on his death bed. Doctor Zin had survived the US airstrike on his secret compound, but he had been severely wounded and his staff of loyal physicians had informed the scientist that he did not have long to live. It was at that time that he summoned his daughters to his side and had informed them of the book that he had found while working on a joint government project decades before. He had told them where he had hidden the text and to what purpose he had used it. Zin informed his daughters of his plans to use the book in his plot to seek revenge on those that he felt had betrayed him, however he had never been successful in recreating the rituals that where explained with the pages of the worn document. Zin's daughter had not had a chance to consult with their father again as he had succumbed to his wounds and passed away before they could return to him with the book.

Anger, rage, and fury then took over the two young women and together they had vowed to not only finish what their father had started, but to also pursue their own vengeance against those that were responsible for his ultimate demise.

Blessed with more patience then her sister, Anaya had spent all her time studying the text and learning not only what was contained within, but of the history of the cursed book as well. After numerous unsuccessful attempts at recreating the summoning rituals, Melana had attempted to convince her sister to abandon the book and gain their revenge the old fashioned way. Anaya had resisted and after convincing Melana that this was the way that their father had wanted it to be done, the more venomous of the two finally gave in. Still, Anaya had to keep an eye on her sister in order to prevent her from losing sight again, but once Anaya had successfully completed a summoning ritual and the subsequent death that followed, Melana had been satisfied.

The brutality of the first death had pleased the sisters immensely and they knew that their father would have been pleased as well. It was just unfortunate that Doctor Zin had not been able to use the text to kill his first victim, Rachel Quest. Zin had become impatient and had wanted to hurt Doctor Benton Quest in the most horrific sense imaginable, hence why he had chosen Benton as the final victim. Rachel Quest had died, but not at the hands of those that the book controlled. However, Doctor Zin had ensured that her death was not a pleasant one and the desired outcome, the downfall of Benton Quest had appeared to be a success. However, both Anaya and Melana had kept a close watch on the Doctor and once he overcame his grief for his deceased wife, he went back to the government and started working with them again. Anaya and Melana both believed that he had some involvement in the airstrikes that the US Intelligence agency, Intelligence One, had executed on their home. In the end, it gave the sisters even more reason to ensure that Benton Quest suffered the most brutal and horrific death possible, but not before the rest of those that were close to him were destroyed as well.

Book in hand, Anaya headed out into the chilly fall morning and headed for the small shack at the back of the yard. Upon entering the structure she placed the book down and laid her ceremonial shall on the dirt floor in front of the hand drawn circle that adorned the majority of the floor space. Next the young woman went and turned on the air conditioning unit that had been placed in the only window of the shack; it needed to be cold.

Anaya retrieved the book and knelt before the makeshift circle that she had reproduced exactly as the book had described. Opening the text, Anaya delicately found the correct page she needed and studied the text; a few chances were in order for the summoning because this time she would summon the most powerful and deadliest of them all, the ruler of those that she would command.

Anaya smiled at the thought of the coming night.

* * *

Suitcase in hand, Jessie went to Jonny's room and knocked lightly. A barely audible muffle came in response to the knock and Jessie opened the door slowly, peeking inside.

Jonny sat on the edge of his bed, his back to the door. Jessie stepped inside and saw his suitcase sitting on the bed as well, apparently already packed.

"Hey, Jonny, you ready to go?" Jessie asked in a soft and gentle tone.

Jonny's head cocked slightly at the sound of her voice. "Umm, yeah. Sorry, Jess, I thought you were my dad."

Jessie edged around the bed until she could see what Jonny was up to. His shoulders were hunched and his head was low. Jessie could see that he was holding a picture of his mother, Rachel Quest. Jessie inhaled slightly and knew that she had to be strong for her best friend.

"How you doing?" Jessie asked, not really knowing how else to start the conversation.

Jonny shrugged his shoulders in response. "I don't know. I mean when you've been living a lie for so long it's hard to believe anything anymore."

Jessie sat down next to the blonde. "Jonny, I'm sure your dad was only trying to protect you."

Jonny turned to meet Jessie's eyes and the pain and anguish on his face appeared to transform in a manner of seconds. "Protect me? Protect me from what?"

"From Zin." Jessie replied, attempting to apply some reason that Jonny could see.

Jonny snorted in disgust. "He should have told me. I had a right to know." He paused as if he was still trying to organize his thoughts. "And you know what, Jess, he hasn't even told me how she died. How do I know that what he told me before, about her being poisoned, is true?"

"Jonny, you father is a good man."

"Don't defend him, Jess."

"I'm not. All I'm saying is that he must have had a good reason."

"That's easy for you to say." Jonny shot back.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"At least you still have a mother."

"Jonny, I don't think that is really fair." Jessie retorted; a little shocked at Jonny's tone.

Jonny huffed and stood, walking away from the girl. He shoved the picture into his pocket. "You don't know what its like to be hurt like this."

"Jonny, we all hurt for different reasons. We all have our own problems that we have to face."

Jonny turned back and facing her with a look of disdain he sneered, "Sorry, Jess, I don't buy it. You're little spat with your dad's love life isn't on the same level as this."

Jonny's word hit her harder then a slap in the face. "Jonny, I never tried to compare the two. I'm just trying to help."

"Save it, Jess. I don't need nor do I want your help."

Jessie had heard enough. Jonny was hurting, but that did not give him the right to treat her like he was. "You know what, Jonny, fine. If you want to deal with this on your own then I respect that, but I care about you and want to support you."

Jonny turned his back on her again. "I said I don't need it. Now leave."

Jessie fumed, but she knew that the conversation was over. Without another word she got up and left Jonny's room, slamming the door a little harder then she had anticipated.

Suitcase in hand, Jessie headed down the stairs; hoping for just a few minutes to collect her thoughts. She didn't even have that.

Race Bannon stepped into his daughter's path and Jessie could tell by the look on his face that he had not forgotten her behavior from the night before or this morning.

"We need to talk, young lady."

Jessie rolled her eyes visibly at her father. "We don't have time for this, dad."

"Yes we do. We still have a few minutes before we have to leave. You're behavior as of late has been unacceptable and downright disrespectful."

Still hurt by Jonny's refusal to accept her help, Jessie was not in the mood to deal with her father's lectures. "Well, I'm not the only one whose been acting a little disrespectful now am I, dad?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're behavior has been pretty sly lately and I'm not the only one whose recognized that."

Race shook his head, "Do not try to bring my professional life into this discussion."

"Why not, dad? Even your boss saw what you did." Jessie shot back.

"Do not think for a minute, Jessica, that you can use that against me. Frankly that is none of your business."

"How convenient, dad." Jessie spat. "You just dismiss whatever anybody else has to say in regards to what _you _do if their opinion doesn't please you? Nice try."

Jessie pushed past her father and without a glance back in response to his repeated demands that she not walk away from him, Jessie continued. Heading straight for the door, Jessie only stopped long enough to open the front door, step through, and slam the door behind her.

The cold air hit her body and blew her radiant red hair swirling in the wind. The air was bitter, but it felt better then being inside that house. Right now, Jessie did not want to deal with her father.

Spying the I-1 agent in his car Jessie headed straight for the vehicle. Without being invited she moved to the passenger side of the vehicle, opened the back door, tossed her suitcase inside, closed the door and clambered into the passenger seat.

Corbin was jolted awake by the sound of the car door slamming shut and he glanced at his new passenger with an air of confusion. "Can I help you?" He asked after Jessie sat down and did not say a word.

"Probably not; after all you are a man." Jessie said as she put her seatbelt on and started fiddling with the stereo, making it very apparent that she intended to ride to the airport in this particular vehicle.

"What?" Phil responded. He had known Jessie since she was born. He knew how intelligent she was, but she was also plagued with the combined stubbornness and arrogance of both of her parents.

"What is it with men?" Jessie asked, but Phil did not think she was speaking directly to him. "You try and help and they blow you off. Then just because I'm only sixteen my dad things that he can tell me how to act, but then go off and act like a fool himself."

Phil groaned in response to Jessie's outburst and leaned his head on the top of the steering wheel. He had only gotten a couple hours of sleep on the plane and he was still exhausted. The last thing he needed was dealing with a scorned teenage girl, but he knew that getting her out of the car would be an almost impossible task.

"You haven't married again, Phil?" Jessie asked.

Phil wished the girl would just stop talking, but it was no use. He leaned back and looked at the teen; she really did resemble both her father and mother in so many ways.

"No. Why?" Phil muttered.

"Well, if your divorce was any where near like my parents was I'm sure you understand."

"Jessie, if you're mad at your dad for whatever reason, why are you telling me?" Phil pleaded.

Jessie shrugged, "I don't want to bother Doctor Quest, not with all that has just come out, Jonny won't listen, and Hadji is in India and until I get a chance to call my mom you're the only one left."

"I hate my life." Phil groaned under his breath and let his head fall onto the steering wheel once again.

* * *

The air grew cold as Anaya recited the chants that were necessary to call forth the creature that would carry out the Zins' horrific plans.

Anaya forced herself to show no signs of fear as the being would surely sense it immediately upon its arrival and feed off of it. Anaya knew that she had to remain fully in control with the being, but just the sight of it could drive the strongest of men completely mad. It was too horrific to describe, but Anaya was determined to remain in control; she could not risk allowing it free reign over her and the world that she was currently bringing it into.

The air grew colder and a faint blue light filled the edges of the summoning circle as Anaya recited the final passages. She could feel its presence approaching and she knew that she had been successful in summoning the most powerful and deadliest being that the ancient text had described.

Bowing her head, Anaya felt a gush of bitter air spew forth from the circle and she felt as if her bones had frozen instantly. Before her stood the massive form of the one she had just summoned and she raised her gaze to stare into the creature's massive and deadly maw.

It did not speak in the sense that humans communicate, but Anaya heard its voice inside her head. It spoke in its native tongue, but somehow, just as with the others, Anaya was able to understand.

"_Why have you summoned my children and I from out slumber?"_ The creature demanded.

"I command you now." Anaya spoke out loud, knowing that the being could hear her.

"_No one commands me."_ The being's voice boomed inside of Anaya's head and she unwittingly flinched at the ferocity in its speech.

"I have the text as you can see. I am in control." Anaya retorted.

The creature seemed to be contemplating her last words and Anaya watched its fiery red eyes, filled with the fires of Hell itself, with as much control as she could muster.

After a few moments of silence the creature finally spoke again, _"What do you wish of us?"_

To Be Continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or any characters associated with the show. I am not making any money off of this.

**The New Dynasty**

**Chapter 4**

**By: Sigokat**

Jonny slumped in his seat, oblivious to the quiet D.C. suburban homes passing by outside the car window. Ever since his father had informed him that everything he had once known in regards to his mother's death was false, Jonny had been flooded by a wave of emotions. The inner turmoil that he currently struggled with was tearing him apart inside. Jonny was angry with his father and the constant thoughts of hurt and betrayal that his father had cast upon him were just adding to his overall frustrations and grief. A feeling of guilt and remorse had momentarily crept into his mind for the manner in which he had rejected Jessie's offer of comfort, but he had been such an emotional wreck at the time, and still was, he lashed out at the one person that he knew was truly concerned with his well being and state of mind. With a quick glance to his right he stole a look at his best fried and even though he wanted to apologize to her for the way he'd acted, he still couldn't dismiss all of the feelings he had expressed earlier. Even though Jessie was dealing with her own personal problems, Jonny still felt that his own problem were of much higher importance and the last thing he wanted to hear was another attempt by Jessie to parallel the issues.

With an inaudible sigh, Jonny remained silent and turned back towards the window. The mood of the group had been solemn since their departure for D.C. and the mood hadn't changed since they'd arrived a little over an hour before and. with the exception of a brief explanation from Corbin on the current status of the investigation not much had been said. Upon their arrival in the nation's capital, the first thing Doctor Quest had insisted on was seeing where his former colleague had been murdered, so now they were en route to the house.

Fifteen minutes later the driver came to a stop in front of a non-descript, two-story house. If the presence of yellow crime scene tape and a few official looking men who lingered at the doorstep had not been visible, Jonny would never have guessed that such a quiet little neighborhood could have been the scene of such a brutal murder.

The group climbed out the SUV that had been provided for their transportation by I-1 and headed for the door. As he approached the house, an overwhelming sense of dread flooded Jonny's body. His eyes darted back and forth around the seemingly peaceful, rural neighborhood, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He tried to shrug the feeling off, but as they got closer to the house the feeling began to escalate. Jonny couldn't help but wonder if whatever had happened inside this particular house was the same as what had happened to his mother all those years ago.

Halfway to the house, Race and Doctor Quest stopped, so Jonny and Jessie waited alongside the two men. Corbin and Agent Roberts proceeded up to the other men who appeared to work for I-1 and were currently engaged in a discussion that Jonny could not hear. However, he did notice one of the men peer out towards the group, probably curious as to why his superior had brought teenagers to a murder scene.

"Maybe it would be better for you two to wait out here" Race said as he watched the group of agents in front of the house.

"Why's that?" Jessie asked. Jonny noticed that much of the iciness that had come to invade her tone had left, but there was still a hint of anger that remained.

"We don't know what it's like in there" Race answered. "It may be something that you two shouldn't see."

"Whatever happened in that house could very well happen to us" Jonny countered. "We have just as much a right to go inside as you do."

Turning towards his son, Doctor Quest looked the boy up and down. He knew Jonny was right, but it still pained him to expose his son to what could possibly lay ahead. Benton had accepted that he had made some serious errors in decisions regarding Rachel's death and misinforming Jonny concerning what had actually happened, and now he could no longer hide from the truth of the matter.

"No, Race" Benton said. "Jonny's right. We all have to know what we're facing. They have the right to know. I just suggest that we all be prepared for the worst."

Race's displeasure showed in his features, but he did not argue with Benton. Race knew Benton was usually levelheaded in these types of situations and if he felt that the kids needed to be a part of it, then it was not for Race to argue. Even if Jessie wasn't in any real danger he knew that his daughter would be determined to do all she could to help prevent any catastrophe that might befall her extended family.

A few moments later Corbin waved the group over to the front door. As they reached the group the I-1 one director spoke. "The forensic team just finished up about thirty minutes ago." In a grim tone he added, "I'll warn you right now it's not pretty inside."

With solemn nods from the group, Corbin crouched under the yellow tape and the others quickly followed behind.

Once inside the house, the first thing that hit the group was the cold; a bitter chill that was both unexpected and somewhat disturbing.

"Why is it so cold in here?" Jessie asked as she crossed her arms over her chest and shoved her hands beneath her arms. "Is the air conditioning on or something?"

"No. The air conditioning is not on" Corbin responded gravely. "We don't know what the cause of the cold is, but it's been present at each of the crime scenes and it never seems to vanish."

"Strange" Doctor Quest mumbled, stroking his beard.

"The murder took place back in the kitchen" Phil said as he led the group down the hall towards the rear of the home.

Jonny glanced at the pictures that adorned the walls; nothing out of the ordinary, just typical pictures of a man, who must have been Doctor Steinbeck, and an assortment of different people and places. As his eyes scanned the photographs he found himself searching for any signs of his mother within the pictures. Rachel Quest had been involved in the project that seemed to lay at the heart of this matter, so it was safe for Jonny to assume that Doctor Steinbeck may have worked with the woman before. Jonny frowned as he realized that none of the pictures appeared to obtain any clues as to the mystery before them and he did not see either of his parents in the photographs. It made Jonny wonder just what his mother and father had been involved in all these years ago with this man that would cause the Zin's to want to exact revenge.

The air grew colder as they reached the kitchen. With the exception of Corbin and Roberts, both of whom had already been at the scene already, the sight before them was beyond anything they could have imagined.

The kitchen was a decent size, but it was in a state of utter chaos. A small breakfast table was placed towards the rear of the kitchen and one of the chairs was overturned. Jonny could make out part of an outline on the floor, which must have been where Steinbeck had met his end, but what was truly unnerving was the blood. Almost every surface was covered in the now drying liquid and it appeared as if more blood than could possibly be contained within a single human body was splattered throughout the kitchen. Bloody handprints could be seen on the back door, near the knob, the kitchen counter and on the breakfast table. It appeared as if the Doctor had tried to escape from his attacker.

The entire group, even Phil and Agent Roberts, covered their mouth and nose with a hand. Race's eyes expertly took in the scene and he was the one to ask "What is this smell? There's more to it than just blood."

Corbin nodded slowly as he moved back into an area of the kitchen that had as little of the spilled remains as possible. "We're not exactly sure. At each of the scenes there has been an unidentified substances found; some sort of greenish liquid that seems to be mixed into the victim's blood."

"Mixed in? As in it was in the victim's blood itself?" Doctor Quest asked. He had stooped down in front of the spot where his old acquaintance had been, but now he stood back up and faced the I-1 agent.

Corbin shook his head. "Not in with the blood as in a part of it, but more like on top of it. As if it had been spilled and thrown down over the blood after the fact."

"As a means to try and cover it up perhaps?" Jessie asked.

Phil shrugged, but at the same time shook his head. "I don't see how anyone could think they could cover up this much blood."

"You said it was unidentified" Doctor Quest prodded.

Phil nodded. "So far, none of our forensic tests have been able to reveal just what the substance is or where it came from." As an afterthought he added, "It's almost as if it's not of this earth."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Race asked sarcastically.

Corbin just shrugged, but did not respond. Race noticed how uncomfortable his boss looked and he couldn't help but wonder, besides the crime scene, what was bothering the man.

"What else was discovered?" Doctor Quest asked; obviously in an attempt to not only learn more about the crime but also to diffuse another argument between the two men.

"Each subsequent crime scene has become more gruesome and horrendous. The body of one of my agents was discovered as well, not back here in the kitchen, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the blood in here belonged to him. I also have one agent still missing."

"How could his blood get in here if his body was discovered elsewhere? Especially with no blood being found in other parts of the house?" Race inquired.

"I don't know" Corbin replied.

"What about the doors and windows?" Race asked.

"Everything was locked from the inside."

"So how did the killer or killers escape?"

"I don't know" Corbin said again, sounding agitated.

"Murder weapon?" Race asked; his frustration in the lack of any hard facts was growing more and more evident.

"Undetermined here and with the other victims, as well" Phil replied.

"So again, you don't know" Race sneered.

Phil shrugged, "That's right."

"So what the hell have your people been doing?" Race growled.

"I don't think I like your tone, Race" Phil shot back.

"I…" Race started, but was cut short when Jessie interrupted.

"What's this?" Jessie asked as she discovered the cryptic message written in blood.

Phil exchanged a warning look with Race before he turned to Jessie to answer her question. "Some sort of warning left by the killer we suppose. The strange thing about it is that this is the first crime scene something like this has appeared at."

Jessie studied the phrase on the wall as the agent continued. "One of the agents outside informed me that some of the same mysterious liquid was blended into the writings along with the blood. And they found something else in it, as well."

Jessie cocked her head back at the dark haired man. "Huh?"

"Yes, what do you mean, Phil?" Benton asked.

"I'd have to see it when we get back to headquarters, but he said it was something similar to a razor. It was found in the wall at the end of the last letter and it was wedged in fairly deeply. I didn't see it the first time I was here. Oh, and he also said it appeared organic."

"Organic?" Race mused. "As in it may have come from the killer?"

"Perhaps."

Jessie had turned back to the saying on the wall; all other thoughts had vanished from her mind as the words on the wall tore at her. "This looks Greek."

"That's what I said" Agent Roberts said speaking up for the first time since entering the house. "It says 'The ancients are coming. Fear Me.'"

Jessie shook her head at the man's reply. "No it doesn't."

"Excuse me?" Roberts asked visibly perturbed at being correct by a teenager.

"That's not what is it says" Jessie replied. "And it's not actually Greek, but very similar."

"So what does it say?" The I-1 linguist asked.

"It says, 'The Ancients have come. Fear Us.' You see the A is capitalized which indicates a proper noun."

For the first time, Jonny spoke. The sight of the blood had sent the boy into a temporary state of shock as his mind raced with horrors and questions as to any similarity between what he was now seeing and whether or not his mother had suffered a similar fate. No one had seemed to notice Jonny's state as they had been too wrapped up in the obscene sight that lay before them. Hearing Jessie's interpretation broke Jonny from his spell and pulled him back to reality. "So what does it mean, Jess?"

Jessie turned to her friend and saw just how pale he looked. She knew for a fact that Jonny was struggling with everything before him, but would never admit it publicly and especially not in front of the unfamiliar I-1 agent, Roberts. Inwardly Jessie wished that men weren't as macho and stubborn as they acted most of the time. She made a mental note to attempt to talk with Jonny the next time they were alone together, despite the reaction she'd received from him the last time she'd tried.

"Yes? What does it mean, then?" Roberts asked with some contempt in his voice, but quickly recoiled as he caught a glare from Corbin across the room. Phil was fully aware of both Jessie and Jonny's intelligence and rationale abilities and if Jessie knew something that they didn't about the message he was more then willing to hear her out.

"Well, like I said, I don't think it's actually Greek. Some of the letters are foreign. But for the life of me, I would swear I have seen something similar to this before."

"Where?" Race asked, his eyes narrowing in concern for her.

Jessie's brow furrowed in thought and frustration as the source of the words eluded her. "I'm not sure, but I know it looks very familiar."

Race went and stood next to his daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder. Jessie was a bit shocked at her father's behavior, since she had assumed he was still upset and angry with her. "It's okay, Jess. I'm sure you and Jonny will figure it out and soon."

Jessie nodded and glanced over at Jonny. Some color had returned to his face and Jessie quickly realized that her father's inclusion of Jonny in his statement was as much for Jonny's benefit as hers. Race knew that Jonny would submerge himself in the problem at hand and hopefully it would take his mind off of his own emotions.

"Is there anything else we need to know about this place?" Race asked as he turned back towards Phil.

Phil shook his head. "Not that I can think of, other than that we could find no indication of an intruder outside the house, either. It's as if the killer just materialized and then vanished. The only proof of its existence being this greenish goo it left behind."

Doctor Quest nodded, but had one more question. "Why do you keep saying 'it' in reference to the killer, Phil?"

Phil was caught off guard by the question and soon all the eyes in the room were on him. "I don't know, Doctor. I've seen a lot in my time, but these crime scenes and the victims…" He paused as if looking for the right words. "I just can't imagine them being committed by another human being."

* * *

Melana Zin stood on the back porch of the rental house and watched her sister emerge from the shack. She could tell by Anaya's hurried step that she had been successful in the summoning and her hasty approach, book in hand, indicated to Melana that the Zin family would revel in revenge this day.

"The summoning" Melana said as her sister came up in front of her. "Which did you summon?"

"The one of which we spoke. The one the text describes as the oldest, vilest, and deadliest of them all. There is no escape for Doctor Quest, nor those that would try to save him."

"Good" Melana purred, with an evil smile to match her mood. She could feel the blood pumping in her temples as excitement about the coming night rose inside of her. "Come, sister. We must be ready. I've received word that Doctor Quest and his family have come to D.C."

Anaya grinned at the thought. "It will be that much easier, then, for our new ally."

"They are headed to the hospital now. We will be there to witness our ally's abilities on this glorious day for the Zins."

"Of course. With Doctor Quest and his family gone, we can finally rebuild the dynasty that father worked so hard to create."

"Yes. The New Zin Dynasty."

To be continued…

**Author's Note:** I'd like to give my special thanks to Goddess Evie for taking the time to edit this for me. Thanks for all the help, advice, suggestions, and encouragement!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or any characters associated with the show. I am not making any money off of this.

**The New Dynasty**

**Chapter 5**

**By: Sigokat**

The sky was turning a deep shade of grey and rain had started to fall in an ominously steady pace as Doctor Quest and the rest of the group arrived at the hospital where the body of Doctor Harold Steinbeck was currently residing. Benton had been requested to be at the autopsy of his friend and of course, being who he was, arrangements had been made to delay the procedure until his arrival.

Benton wasn't exactly sure what it was that he hoped to learn from being present at the morgue, however any clue, no matter how minute, could be useful in their current situation and having an extra set of eyes could never hurt. Corbin had suggested that Jonny and Jessie remain in the waiting room not only because of the hospital's standard operating procedures, but also due to the brutality of the murder itself and the condition of the corpse. Both of the kids had protested, but Benton had agreed and soon Jonny and Jessie found themselves giving in to the orders of their respective parents.

Race attempted to prod more information from his superior, but Corbin was not offering up anything more then he had already stated. Race found it hard to believe, but it appeared as if just speaking about what had happened was enough to spook the government agent into a state of perceived paranoia.

The interior of the hospital was bleak and sterile. Hospitals were one of the few places that Jonny always felt uncomfortable in, since they would stir up memories of the days when he had come to see his mother when she had died. The images of that ill-fated day were burned inside his mind, but at this exact moment in time Jonny was having difficulty recalling just what state his mother had been in when she had died. He shuddered at the thought that his mother may have met such a horrendous end as the man whose house they had just left. He desperately wanted to reach out to his father and have him tell Jonny the whole truth, no matter how painful it might be, but Jonny could see that now was not the right time, as his father appeared wrapped in his own thoughts and memories as well.

Taking a seat in one of the hard plastic chairs in the waiting room, Jonny decided that before this night was over, he would get the truth about his mother's death one way or another.

Jessie took a seat next to her best friend and was shortly followed by her dad. Doctor Quest was with Corbin, who was currently arranging for the men to head down to the morgue.

"We shouldn't be too long," Race told the teens as Jessie grabbed an extremely outdated magazine off of one of the coffee tables.

"I still think we should be able to go," Jessie protested sullenly as she blankly flipped through the magazine. "It's not like we've never seen these things before."

Race shook his head. "Sorry, kiddo, but we have to follow hospital protocol on this one."

"Race," Jonny started, but paused as if contemplating whether or not he really wanted to voice aloud what was on his mind. After a few seconds he proceeded, "So you really don't know what's going on here?"

Race saw the pain in Jonny's face and it tore him apart inside to see the boy that he had grown to care about like a son hurting so deeply. "No, Jonny, I swear to you I had no idea about any of this."

"Why would the government keep this a secret?" Jonny pleaded.

Race knew the answer; for once it wasn't Intelligence One that was keeping him in the dark. It was Doctor Quest himself. "I'm not sure, Jonny. All I can say is that it must have all been done in order to protect you from those responsible."

"A lot of good it's done" Jonny grumbled.

"Believe me, I'm not happy about this either, but I don't think that anything Corbin has or hasn't done was meant to hurt you in any way. Like I said, Intelligence One was assigned with protecting you and I think that was the driving force behind his decisions." Race didn't like making excuses for his boss, or even laying the blame on Phil for that matter, but it was just too difficult for him to try and explain to Jonny that it was in fact his father that had made the decision to hide the facts.

Jonny's only response to Race's explanation was a low grunt and a shrug of his shoulders. Whether or not the boy actually believed anything Race had said was undeterminable, so with a look and a nod to his daughter Race decided to leave Jonny in the hands of the only person that he might actually open up to at this point.

Jessie saw and acknowledged the familiar look from her father and she nodded back to him as if to let him know, _"I've got this, dad. I'll look after him."_

Race glanced back over his shoulder and saw that Benton and Phil were already waiting.

"Alright, we'll be back soon. Just wait here and don't get into any trouble."

"Got it, dad." Jessie replied.

* * *

"How is he?" Benton asked when Race rejoined him at the counter.

"He's pretty tore up right now" Race said as he took a visitor's badge that Phil held out for him.

"I need to talk to him" Benton said, staring across the room at his son. "I just don't know what to say."

"He just needs to know that, whatever happened in the past, you did what you did because you love him." Race offered.

Benton turned to his friend and with a weak smile nodded at the white haired bodyguard. "You're right, Race."

"Once we're done here, I'll make sure I sit down with him and lay it all out" Benton replied and with a sharp look to both men. "And this time it will be the truth."

The three men headed down the halls of the hospital. At this hour the hospital was not nearly as busy as it would have been earlier in the day. The halls were almost deserted and the only sounds that filled the vast hallway were the clicking of the mens' shoes on the starkly buffed floors. Like most hospitals, the service elevators that lead to the morgue are towards the rear of the building; out of sight from other patients and family members.

"So how bad is the body?" Benton finally asked, now that the kids were no longer in their presence.

Phil cocked his head to the side and looked at the Doctor as he continued to walk. Benton saw something that appeared to be grief in the man's eyes, but he wondered if it could have also been pity. "It's pretty bad. With the exception of the previous deaths, I have never seen anything like this before and this one is by far the worst of the lot."

"What happened?" Race asked as the group came to a halt in front of one of the elevators.

Phil hit the button as he responded. "Remember blood letting? It looks like that, but far more gruesome and barbaric. And honestly, it's hard to say if the blood loss is the cause of death at all."

"What else would it be?" Race asked.

The elevator chimed and a moment later the doors slid open. As the three men stepped inside a fourth body quickly appeared at the doors. The men had been so caught up in conversation that they never even saw the newcomer until just now.

A slender hand shot out and stopped the doors from closing. "Yes, what else would it be?"

A slender woman, with long, curly, auburn hair stood on the threshold of the elevator, preventing the three men from continuing on to their destination. She appeared to be in her early to mid thirties and her professional style of clothing indicated that she wasn't one of the hospital staff.

"Can we help you?" Corbin said as he inched closer to the woman.

"Of course. You can start by explaining just what was the cause of Doctor Steinbeck's death and why it's important enough to bring the infamous Doctor Quest all the way to D.C." the woman replied, raising her eyebrows at Phil and giving him a poignant look.

Corbin groaned as he quickly realized who this woman was, or at least what she represented. He quickly produced his identification and flashed it before her eyes. "I'm sorry, ma'am, this is an ongoing investigation. We're not at liberty to discuss anything in regards to this matter with the media."

The woman brushed him and his official statement off. "I know who you are, Agent Corbin. And I have just as much a right to know what's going on in regards to this matter as you and so does the public."

"Phil…" Race started, his impatience growing.

Phil fumed inside. It wasn't so much the fact that the media wanted to know the details that really infuriated him. It was the fact that the only way this woman could have known where they would be is if someone had leaked the information to her.

"Go ahead, Race. I'll meet you in a few minutes" he turned his gaze back to the reporter, "Once I've dealt with this matter."

With a little more force then was probably necessary, Corbin grabbed the woman's arm and pushed her back from the elevator. Once he and the lady were in the hall, the elevator doors swished shut and the vehicle proceeded down into the depths of the building.

"Hey!" the woman protested as she squirmed in Phil's grasp. "Let go of me. You have no right to put your hands on me."

Phil did not comply. "Ma'am, I don't know how you found out the details of this investigation, but you have no right to be here. As I said, this investigation is ongoing. You have to leave."

"Like hell I do," she shot back, narrowing her eyes at him in defiance.

Phil was a bit surprised when she actually tried to take a swing at him, but his strength over the woman won out and her fist glanced harmlessly off his shoulder.

"This is harassment," she shouted, but, the two were alone in the hallway.

Phil felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he realized that the aura of their surroundings had suddenly turned dark.

"Let go of me, you brute," the reporter growled as she continued to struggle against Phil's grip on her, but he wasn't paying her any attention.

"Shhh!" Phil hissed at the woman.

"Don't you 'shhh' me" she continued to squirm, but Phil refused to let go of the woman.

"Would you shut up?" Phil barked. "Something's different. Something's…wrong."

"What?" she asked as she finally stopped her protests; she had also noticed that something wasn't right.

"What's going on?" she whispered, suddenly afraid that if she spoke any louder, something dreadful would happen.

"I don't know" Phil said, answering in a whisper, but suddenly he knew that whatever it was that was hunting Doctor Quest had arrived. The temperature in the hospital had dropped significantly.

Phil looked the woman in the eyes "What's your name?"

"Heather…Heather Farrington" she replied without argument.

"Well, Miss Farrington, you wanted to know what was going on and I'm afraid we're both about to find out."

"What are you talking about?" Heather asked, sounding nervous, now, but her answer soon appeared before her.

Her eyes locked on the far end of the hall and she was suddenly overcome with terror. Shadows engulfed the far end of the hall; a thick blackness that seemed to overwhelm and destroy whatever it touched and within the blackness two glowing red orbs stared at them.

Phil turned in the direction of her gaze and took in the sight with a newfound horror. Whatever had killed Doctor Steinbeck was now here and its gaze bore through the man's soul and turned his blood to ice. Instinctively, he reached under his suit jacket for his service pistol as the edges of darkness crept closer.

Heather Farrington couldn't take it any loner. Whatever was at the end of the hall, she was determined to get away before it got her. Since she was no longer the focal point of the government agent's attention, she quickly took advantage of the opportunity. Twisting in the man's grip she was able to get just enough leverage to swing her leg out and land a swift kick to his shins. With a short cry that was probably more surprise than pain, Corbin let go of Miss Farrington's arm as he staggered and fell against the wall. Heather wasn't about to stick around to make sure he was all right and she quickly fled back towards the main entrance of the hospital.

The pain that shot through Phil's leg was enough to knock him back to reality. With a grunt of frustration he got back to his feet and, without daring a glance back at the approaching blackness, he ran back in the direction of the fleeing reporter.

She had gotten a short head start on him and Corbin quickened his pace, but was still cautious to look out for any patients or hospital personnel that might step into his path. As the waiting area came into view, Phil watched as Heather the reporter bolted past the reception desk and out into the fast approaching night.

Corbin skidded to a stop just long enough to be met by Jonny and Jessie, both of whom had jumped from their seats at the signs of commotion. Both teens met the man near the double doors.

"What's going on?" Jessie asked. "Who was that woman?"

Corbin was acting purely on instinct as he tried to apprehend the fleeing reporter. "Kids, warn your dads," ge directed, briefly taking his eyes off the doors to address the two bewildered teens.

"What's going on?" Jonny asked, suddenly anxious.

"Just go. You've got to get to them and get out of here," Corbin demanded. "It's here."

And with that he stepped past the kids and headed out the doors.

Temporarily frozen by Phil's words, Jonny and Jessie watched as he headed out after the woman. As Corbin disappeared outside, the two friends exchanged looks of confusion and concern.

"Come on," Jonny said as the severity of the situation finally sank in. "We have to find our dads."

Jessie nodded in agreement and they took off, sprinting down the hall that the two adults had just come from.

* * *

Standing over the stripped corpse of the man that Benton had once worked with, the scientist quickly realized what Corbin had been talking about when he tried to explain the conditions of Steinbeck's death.

Harold Steinbeck's body, from the head down to his ankles, was covered in multiple gashes and lacerations. The strange thing about the wounds, however, was that they did not appear to have been caused by any type of blade or sharp edged object that Benton could possibly fathom. Some of the wounds were deep and some had barely broken the skin, but each wound appeared more like rips and tears then actual cuts. Some parts of the man's flesh were so badly mangled, one could possibly conclude that it had somehow been torn or ripped away from the muscle and bone. Benton felt his stomach churn as he took in the sight of such a gruesome death and he found himself saying a silent prayer for the man. He also felt a wave of relief that his beloved Rachel had not suffered such a brutal death at the hands of Doctor Zin.

"His neck was broken as well" The pathologist, Doctor Dwyer announced. "But it's difficult to say what exactly killed him at this point. Once we open him up, we should learn more."

Benton nodded to the man and then turned back towards Race who had taken up a spot in the far corner of the room. The big bodyguard had briefly looked at the corpse, but he looked just as torn up about the condition of the corpse as Benton felt. Benton wondered if having seen the body inside the blood splattered kitchen was what had Phil Corbin so shaken as well.

Benton watched as the pathologist delicately handled one of the scalpels and placed it against the dead man's chest. Suddenly, Benton tensed as the man paused, shuddered, looked across the body and said, "Is it cold in here?"

"What did you say?" Benton asked as the words of the pathologist echoed through the room.

"Just that it's colder in here then normal," the man answered, apparently not noticing the nervous edge to Benton's question as he turned back to his task at hand.

Benton felt his muscles tighten and he jumped as he felt a presence close behind his back.

Race placed a hand on the Benton's shoulder and the I-1 bodyguard felt the tension in the scientist's muscles. Race had also heard the words spoken by the pathologist, but more importantly, he had felt the room grow colder within a matter of moments.

"Benton, something not right" Race spoke softly into the man's ear in an attempt not to alert the other doctor to their distress. "We should go…while we still can."

Benton's entire body felt like it had turned to stone and it took an extraordinary amount of effort just to nod his agreement to Race.

"Yes, I think you are ri-" Benton started, but could not finish his statement.

A thunderous crash filled the room and Race instinctively pulled Benton down towards the ground as the room exploded with glass. Quickly retrieving his pistol from his small of the back holster Race crouched in a defensive position in front of Benton, protecting the man from harm with his own body.

"What the hell is tha-?" Doctor Dwyer shouted as he too tried to take cover from the glass, but the portly man had not been as fast as the other two and his last word ended in a grotesque gurgling sound as a large shard of glass wedged itself into his throat.

"Stay down, Benton." Race instructed as the source of the broken window landed just a few feet away from the men. A body, dressed in a security guard uniform had been hurled through the window and even though it appeared to be covered in the same green substance that had been at the crime scene, the more disturbing feature of the corpse was that its head had been ripped from its neck. Race noticed that the dead man's revolver was still tightly holstered on his hip; the poor guy hadn't even had time to draw his weapon.

Race chanced a quick glance at the window and he soon discovered what could only be the source of their bane and the sight of it chilled him to core.

* * *

Jessie pushed the call button for the elevator again. She had already pressed the button twice, but it seemed as if the elevator was intent on taking its time.

"Why do these things take so long?" Jessie groaned as she stared at the numbers above the metal doors.

"Jess, look at this," Jonny said from a short distance away. Jessie hadn't even realized that he had moved away from her, drawn to something further down the hall.

"What is it?" Jessie asked as she came up and knelt next to him.

Jonny was examining a spot on the ground. The color of the tiles appeared somewhat darker then the rest, which, under normal circumstances, could have been attributed to normal wear and tear, but Jessie knew that these were anything but normal circumstances. And it wasn't the coloring that Jonny was fixated on, but the floor itself. Splotches of greenish liquid were scattered about the floor, but if that wasn't strange enough, those same patches of fluid were frozen.

"What the hell is going on here?" Jessie mumbled.

Jonny turned and met Jessie's worried look with one of his own. Suddenly Corbin's last words before his hasty departure made sense. _"It's here.'_"

The dinging of the elevator's arrival caused Jonny to get up and head towards the doors.

"Come on, Jess. We don't have much time." he said as he sprinted to reach the elevator before the doors shut.

The two teens road the elevator in silence as it took them down to the morgue. Jessie found herself hoping back and forth from one foot to another as she stared at the digital numbers that marked their current location.

"Why do these things seem to take so damn long?" Jonny spat.

"Let's just hope that nothing's happened." Jessie offered.

"Yes, but I doubt that will be the case," Jonny replied to his best friend's attempt to remain optimistic.

Jessie's body was covered in goose bumps as the elevator made its decent to the morgue.

"Damn, we should have taken the stairs" she said, fidgety with impatience.

Jonny turned and met his best friend's gaze and for a brief moment he wanted nothing more then to hold her and keep her safe from whatever lay in their immediate future. But Jonny knew better and as soon as the elevator doors opened they needed to be ready for anything.

"Jonny…" Jessie started, but before she could finish her statement the elevator came to a stop. The ding that announced their arrival sounded louder then normal and as the elevator doors opened Jessie and Jonny's worlds suddenly turned upside down once again.

"My God…" Jessie mumbled as she took in the sight before her and as sudden as if she had been hit in the face Jessie Bannon knew where she had seen the words written on the wall of that quiet suburban home.

To be continued…

_Author's Note: Again, thank you, Goddess Evie, for your suggestions/advice and editing. I hope this chapter is better now that you've added your expert touch to its pages._


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or any characters associated with the show. I am not making any money off of this.

Author's Note: The event of this chapter and the next chapter happen at the same time. They are occurring simultaneously.

**The New Dynasty**

**Chapter 6**

**By: Sigokat**

Phil was hit by a blast of wind and rain as he exited the hospital in pursuit of the reporter. Leaving Benton and Race in the morgue had not been his intention, but the federal agent knew that Heather Farrington could possibly be more deeply involved in this situation than just a mere reporter. He needed to apprehend her to find out just what she knew.

Phil's eyes quickly adjusted to the surrounding darkness that had taken up residency in the city much faster than in previous days. Drawing his pistol from his shoulder holster, he moved through the deserted parking lot in search of the woman. The rain was coming down harder now and Corbin had to continually wipe the water from his eyes in order to continue his search.

Two rows over he saw Miss Farrington standing in the middle of a row of vehicles. He was still a good distance away from her and he not only wondered why she had stopped, but also why she was just standing there, staring off into the distance. Due to his current position, Phil could not see what the woman was staring at. Moving as silently but as quickly as possible, Phil made his way towards Heather and as he approached he noticed that she appeared to be in some sort of trance. Phil was concerned about the others back in the hospital, so he did not want to waste any more time dealing with this woman than he had to.

Phil approached the reporter from an angle and when he was finally close enough to call out to her, he saw what had frozen the woman in place. He had planned to call out to Heather, but now his vocal cords had stopped working and no words were able to escape his throat. He shuddered, but not from the cold rain that was currently soaking through his clothes. Even through the heavy downfall Phil was able to make out the creature at the far end of the aisle. He blinked more rain from his eyes in order to see the abomination more clearly.

The thing at the end of the row of cars did not approach. It simply stood in its place, its multiple glowing blue eyes transfixed on the reporter that it faced, its stare locked with hers. An overhead light fixture illuminated part of the parking lot and the creature stood just outside the pool of artificial light, but Phil was still able to make out part of its body, though in all honesty he found himself wishing that he couldn't.

Before Phil's eyes, the creature appeared to transform its shape. At first, it had appeared gigantic in size-it stood perhaps twelve to fifteen feet tall, however as Phil wiped the rain drops from his eyes the creature looked to be shrinking in size. Still, even when it stopped it was still larger than any human he had seen before. The monster stood at least nine feet tall and its torso was roughly the shape of a man's, however that was where the resemblances ended. Atop its thick neck sat a bullet-shaped, proboscises head. The majority of the top half of its cone-like head was filled with a cluster of at least a dozen blue eyes, all of which were currently transfixed on Heather. Phil squinted at the beast and could make out a jungle of tentacles, all different lengths and widths, jutting out from the creatures back, each one snapping and whipping back and forth in the rain as if desperately awaiting a signal to attack. Long sinewy arms ended in four talon-like claws, which were similar, yet larger, to the ones on the creature's feet.

Phil felt his gaze drawn to them, as the monster ever so slightly flexed its hand. The little bit of light from the street lamp gleamed off those deadly claws. It continued to stare at the dazed reporter, and Phil almost thought he saw the thing lick its lips. One of the flailing tentacles on the creature's back seemed to almost reach out towards Heather, even from the distance between the two, as if to touch her. Or worse, wrap itself around her and shove her down its throat.

Phil knew he had to move quickly or else die in the lonely parking lot, but his legs refused to obey the commands from his brain. Glancing down at the pistol in his hand, he knew mere bullets would not affect something as horrendous as what stood in the distance.

Summoning up what little courage he had left he willed his legs to move. Just as he took his first step the creature leaned its head back and a massive shriek emanated from its hideous snout. The sound pierced his eardrums and he covered his ears as he fell to his knees. The monster continued its retort and soon every car window in the immediate vicinity shattered from the high pitched noised. Phil ducked his head as glass rained down around him.

His hands had been pressed so hard against his ears that he hadn't even realized that the cries had stopped. He looked up again and saw that Heather was still in the same place, as if the monster's cry or the shattered windows never even fazed her. Getting to his feet and stepping into view, Phil immediately discovered the error of his actions. He had only taken two steps in Miss Farrington's direction when the creature turned its gaze on him. Phil froze in place, stricken by immobility as the creature locked dozens of devilish orbs onto him.

Phil wasn't sure if what he saw next was actually happening, but as he slowly turned his head towards the monster before him, he would have sworn that an evil grin appeared on the creature's oblong snout. Sickly yellow teeth protruded from his mouth as a forked tongue flicked out from between, as if in anticipation. Oh what, Phil didn't want to guess. He felt the contents of his stomach attempt to rise, but he bit back the sick taste in his mouth.

The sound of the rain pelting against the pavement was soon overthrown by another sound; the sound of squealing tires. Before the source of the tires came into view, the creature that stood before the two humans took one step closer to them, causing Phil to raise his pistol in its direction. However, as it planted its gruesome feet, the entire creature dissipated and vanished in a whiff of acidic smoke and haze.

Almost at the same instance in which the creature vanished, two beaming orbs of light appeared in its place. Still a good hundred feet of so from the reporter, Phil saw the woman shake her head as the headlights approached her position. With a burst of speed Phil, darted towards Heather as the vehicle sped straight at her.

"Move!" he shouted, but he doubted she would hear him over the roar of the engine.

Phil quickened his pace, glass crunching underfoot. He moved as fast as possible straight towards Heather. His legs felt sluggish, but he was quickly gaining ground and moments before the approaching van would have flattened her, Phil barreled into the woman with all the force and momentum his body had to offer. He wrapped his arms around her as they hit the ground, twisting his body in midair so that he would take the majority of the force of the landing. Pain shot up through Phil's shoulder from the impact of the fall and the glass on the pavement that ground through his suit into his skin. Seconds later, the van that had attempted to run the woman down shot past their location.

Without a word to the woman, Phil jumped back up to his feet, stepped out from between the cars surrounding him and took aim at the van that was almost to the end of the aisle. Releasing the safety on his pistol, Phil fired at the van without abandon. Even in the dark and rain his aim was good and as the bullets impacted the back of the van, he saw one of the rear windows shatter and the rear passenger tire go flat from being punctured.

"They won't get far on that," Phil thought to himself as he turned back to look at the woman whom he had just saved. "Are you alright?" he asked hurriedly, not wanting to lose sight of the van.

She nodded as she stood, steadying herself on a nearby car.

"Stay here," Phil instructed and turned to take off after the van, which was currently still in sight, but vanishing quickly.

"No way," Heather announced, regaining her senses and finding her balance. She wiped a few small pieces of tempered glass from her curly hair and said, "I'm coming with you."

"Stay here," Phil said again, sternness entering his voice.

"Not with that thing still around," Heather protested boldly, gesturing over her shoulder at where the creature had stood. "It was in my head."

Phil thought he saw a look of fear flash across Heather's eyes. He shot her a confused look and sighed, knowing there was no time to argue. "Well, you better keep up then."

Without another word Corbin dashed off in the direction of the van with Ms. Farrington close on his heels. The rain started to come down in droves they ran after the departing van. Knowing that if he tried to make it back to his own vehicle he would surely lose track of the van, Phil pushed himself as hard as he could without slipping on the wet pavement. He could feel the pain in his shoulder as he pumped his arms to run as fast as possible after the fleeing vehicle. He did not bother to look back to see if the reporter was keeping up; his mind was set on only one task-stopping the van. He had not seen the driver of the vehicle, but he had a fairly good idea who was behind the parking lot assault.

Darting between the parked cars, Phil saw the van make a sharp turn and exit the parking lot, the punctured tire doing little at the moment to slow down the driver. Without hesitation, he pursued the vehicle out of the parking lot and watched as it shot straight down the road. Not wanting to waste any time, he decided it was best to just pursue the van and not attempt to disable the vehicle with any more bullets so he quickly holstered his pistol as he continued to run.

At the end of the street the van took a right hand turn, but the driver must have overcompensated for the speed and road conditions and the vehicle fishtailed, sideswiping a parked sports car on the corner. The action bought Corbin a few needed seconds and he quickened his pace until he reached the corner. By the time he had reached the intersection the van had recovered and was speeding down the next road. Still in pursuit, Phil saw that the van was almost a full two blocks ahead of him and he feared that he might actually lose it due to the rain and the vehicle's speed, however before the van reached the end of the next block it suddenly doused its lights and made a quick left hand turn onto a narrow service road.

"Into the park," Phil said to himself as he crossed the road and made his way towards where the van had disappeared.

As he reached the park entrance Phil noticed that Heather was nowhere to be seen. _Perhaps she gave up_ he thought as drew his .45 SigSauer from his shoulder holster and entered the park.

Blocked by the overhanging trees, the rain was not as heavy inside the park as it was out on the road. No sounds came from within the park, which led the I-1 agent to believe that the occupant or occupants of the van were attempting to lie low in hopes that he would give up his pursuit.

Making his way deeper into the woods Phil suddenly found himself wishing that he had not come alone. He had no idea who was in the van-thought he had a pretty good idea- and the fact that he was at the disadvantage sent warning signals flashing to his brain.

_This was not a good idea_ Phil surmised as he continued deeper into the park. He had slowed his pace to a walk as his eyes scanned the surrounding darkness.

After a few minutes he found himself in a larger, more open area of the park, but it did little to settle his nerves. The hairs on the back of his neck where standing on end as the rain came down harder in the less densely covered area and he had an uncanny feeling of being watched; he just prayed that it was not the creature from the parking lot that had found its way into this deserted area.

A shrill ringing broke through the howling rain and Phil quickly cursed himself as he realized what was happening. Lowering his pistol he reached for his cell phone, which sounded louder in the dark, deathly quiet forest then it ever had previously. Phil couldn't seem to find the small electronic device fast enough as the ringing continued to give away his position.

"Shit, shit," Phil mumbled as he grabbed the phone from his pocket, attempting to shut the cursed thing off.

He had been so intent on the phone that he had momentarily let his guard down and did not hear the footsteps behind him until it was too late. A thin piece of wire found its way around Corbin's neck and just as it began to tighten around his throat, he dropped the still ringing phone and shot his left hand up underneath the wire. His quick reaction proved invaluable as his hand now served to stop the wire from slicing into his neck completely, but with his left arm now immobilized, he was off balance and defenseless.

With what strength he could get from his left arm, Phil attempted to push the wire away from his neck, but he felt the thin weapon slicing into his hand instead. Warm blood began to drip down his fingers from the wound as Phil's mind searched for options.

"This is a better death then you deserve," the voice that held the garrote growled into his ear.

The voice was female and Phil could make a pretty good guess who it actually belonged to. He raised his right hand, which still held his pistol, and attempted to aim it at his attacker, but firing a round at the awkward angle would do nothing except make him deaf.

The woman behind him pulled the garrote tighter and Phil felt it bite into the right side of his neck. If he didn't act quickly he would be dead in a matter of seconds. Using his height and size to his advantage, Phil twisted his body to the right and faked a sudden collapse. When his attacker felt him going down to his knees, the garrote was momentarily loosened as she readjusted her grip. It was the only opening Corbin needed. He dropped the pistol and, reaching back behind him he grabbed a handful of hair as he kicked out his left leg, dropped to his right knee, and flipped the woman over his shoulder. She released the garrote during the counter move and Phil found himself gasping for air. His eyes fell on the woman sprawled out on the rain soaked ground in front of him and even though he didn't know which Zin sister it was, he knew that she was just as dangerous as her father had once been.

Momentarily dazed by the sudden move that the I-1 agent had manuevered, Melana slowly got to her feet. Turning to face him, she sneered at him kneeling in the rain, blood flowing freely from his neck and his injured hand.

"You're the one responsible for my father's death," Melana said, the words dripping from her lips like venom.

Without responding Phil reached for his dropped pistol, but with his head still spinning from the lack of oxygen he was too slow and Melana moved in to strike. With a swift kick to his outstretched hand, Melana connected and laughed as she heard the man grunt with pain. Before he could recover Melana landed another kick to Phil's face, sending the agent sprawling flat on his back. Realizing just what fun she could have with this enemy of hers, Melana stood back and watched as Corbin rolled over onto his stomach and attempted to prop himself up on his hands and knees. Moving in swiftly, she landed a kick to his midsection which sent him flat on his back again.

"You should have just given up before and this would all be over," Melana teased as Corbin went through the same motions again on the mud soaked grass.

Melana smiled coyly and she strode back to the fallen man. As she swung her leg towards his face, she was caught by surprise when Corbin snatched her foot from the air, inches away from this bloodied face and then pushed her back with strength that seemed to come from nowhere. She cried out in surprise as the force of his throw landed her flat on her rear. Growling in frustration, she watched as Corbin somehow made it back to his feet, turning to face her.

"So this is how it's to be," Melana spat as she scrambled back to her feet.

Corbin didn't respond verbally; his actions answered the question for the Zin. Stepping forward, he tightened his hands into fists as he advanced on the dangerous woman. Melana mirrored his actions, but decided to wait till he made the first move.

_I still have a few surprises for you_ Melana thought to herself as she studied the I-1 agent's movements.

It was obvious, as he closed in on her, that he was hurting and Melana knew he would more than likely make a deadly mistake. Corbin suddenly advanced quickly and just as he was within striking distance he sidestepped to the right, catching Melana unprepared, and threw a quick roundhouse punch towards her head. Phil's fist connected with Melana's temple and she staggered and fell from the force of the blow. Wondering where the man had summoned his newfound strength from, Melana tried to scramble back to her feet, but was quickly met with a less powerful left jab to the face, quickly followed by a downward striking right punch. Melana was back on the ground before she even realized what had hit her.

_That's it_ she said to herself, anger welling up inside from the beating she was taking.

Corbin stood over the fallen woman and Melana landed a swift kick to the man's groin. Phil staggered backwards, but did not fall. However, it gave Melana enough time to recover and find her way back to her feet.

"Now you're going to die," Melana spat as she advanced on the overly wounded man.

Phil was still dazed from the kick Melana had just delivered, so he did not see her produce the short, curved knife from behind her back until she was only a few steps away from him. Melana closed the distance between her and her prey in seconds and, playing on his weakened condition, Melana feigned a backwards slash towards his midsection. Her actions produced the desired result and as Corbin instinctively stepped backwards away from the arc, Melana moved to strike with her real attack.

In his move to avoid the blade Corbin had left himself open for another attack, but did not realize his mistake until Melana changed positions and raised the blade, slicing at his chest in a downward motion. Corbin scrambled to avoid the attack, but his previous actions had been his undoing and the blade found its mark as it sliced through his clothes and into his flesh.

Corbin grunted in pain, staggered backwards, and fell to his knees, his hands moving up to his now bleeding chest wound. Melana grinned evilly at the man as she lashed out with her foot and connected with his chin, sending him onto his back once again.

Melana stood over the dying I-1 agent, the blade gleaming with Corbin's blood. "You know what, I'm glad I didn't kill you right off. This has been much more fun."

For the first time since the encounter Phil spoke, spitting blood from his mouth as he addressed his attacker. "You can go to hell, you psycho bitch."

"Somehow, out of the two of us, I think you'll be headed there at a lot sooner" Melana countered, straddling his torso and raising the knife above his heart.

Corbin laughed, which caused the woman to pause momentarily. "What's so funny?"

"I guess I'll be seeing your father again relatively soon," Corbin mumbled. "Good, I owe the bastard another ass whooping."

Melana's face flushed with anger at the man's word. "That's enough."

Sitting on Corbin's stomach, Melana raised the knife to strike. Phil saw the anger and total hatred in her eyes as she brought the blade down over his heart. He could hear sirens in the distance, but he did not know if they were real or something his mind was conjuring up right before the end.

Just as Phil thought he was about to die, a flash of movement in his peripheral vision caught his eye. Melana saw it as well, but too late and before she could finish her killing blow she was suddenly tackled and thrown off of Phil.

Knife flying from her grip, Melana cursed as she stood to face her new assailant. Her eyes quickly fell onto the person who had tackled her and she couldn't help but laugh out loud. Standing before her was a woman, drenched and shivering from the rain, with long, curly hair. She currently had a small revolver in her hands, pointed straight at Melana. The look in her eyes was serious, but Melana knew the difference between a killing look and a bluff.

"You should put that away before you hurt somebody" Melana mocked.

"Shut your mouth, you bitch," Heather ordered as she cocked the hammer of the revolver.

Melana saw the seriousness in the woman's eyes increase, but refused to back down. "What are you going to do, little miss? Are you going to shoot me over him?" Melana jerked a thumb at Phil who was currently pulling himself up into a sitting position. She laughed and added for Phil's benefit, "How nice. His lover has come to save him."

"What's it to you?" Heather shot back. "Actually, I should shoot you for trying to run me down in the parking lot. Luckily for me, Agent Corbin was around to stop you."

"How chivalrous of him," Melana said, but suddenly noticed the sirens that had been far off in the distance were drawing nearer.

Heather picked up on the woman's sudden realization. "That's right. The cops are on their way. How are you going to explain attempted murder of a federal agent to them, huh?"

Melana sneered at the reporter. "You think you know what's going on here? You know nothing."

"Then explain it to me."

Melana snorted a laugh. "By saving his life, you've done nothing but seal your own doom. Now the both of you, along with all of the Quest family will fall victim to my ally."

"You're insane," Heather said, but something in her mind told her that the woman was speaking the truth.

"I don't have time for this," Melana said, regaining her evil composure and addressed her two adversaries. "Enjoy your time together while you can, what little time that may be." She turned back to Heather and issued her final challenge. "I doubt you're woman enough to use that little peashooter; especially on someone who is unarmed."

Heather wanted to do nothing more then shoot the pompous woman right in the face, but she knew the other woman was right. She couldn't do it. Melana grinned in satisfaction and without another word she turned and fled into the night. Heather watched the woman go and soon she was lost completely in the darkness. Suddenly remembering why she had even attempted taking on the evil bitch, Heather turned back towards the I-1 agent who was currently clutching his chest.

Putting her gun away and kneeling next to the man, she saw that his clothes and hands were soaked with blood. "Jeez, she sure did a number on you. We need to get you to a hospital."

"You should have shot her," Phil said, his hands shaking. "And I'll be fine. I'm not going to a hospital."

"I wish I had the guts to shoot her. She was rather irritating," Heather said, glancing in the direction Melana had disappeared as she tried to help the wounded man to his feet.

"You called the police?" Phil asked as his eyes searched for his pistol.

"Well, when you took off running I thought it would be a good to call for some backup."

"You were pretty good backup," Phil said honestly as he braced himself against the reporter. He pulled his tie off, which had been almost sliced apart, and shoved it into one of his suit jacket pockets. "Just wish you had gotten here a little sooner."

"We need to get you to a hospital," Heather pressed, concern etched into her features as she looked Phil over.

Phil grunted and spit a mouthful of blood. "It's just a scratch. I've had worse. We don't have time for a hospital right now." Phil pointed to his pistol and Heather bent down to retrieve it for him.

"What do you mean?" Heather asked, somewhat amazed that he was actually able to stand and talk; maybe his wounds weren't as serious as she had thought.

"That creature is still out there and it's after Doctor Quest. We have to get back and stop it." Phil said as he wiped the mud from the pistol on his pants.

To be continued…

Author's Note: Thanks again to Goddess Evie for all her help with this chapter and the next. Simply put…you rock.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or any characters associated with the show. I am not making any money off of this.

Author's Note: This chapter takes place at the same time as the previous chapter. The events are happening simultaneously.

**The New Dynasty**

**Chapter 7**

**By: Sigokat**

Jessie froze immediately after stepping from the elevator as her eyes fell upon the abomination at the end of the hall. She could only see its profile, but there was no mistaking what it was, even though Jessie had never once believed that it had actually existed. Without taking her eyes off the creature, her hand found Jonny's and she clasped her fingers tightly around his. She could feel the tension in his strong hand. Jessie wasn't sure whether or not Jonny knew the true identity of the creature, but she did know that it was just as terrifying to him.

Jessie breathed one word; the creatures true name. The word came out as barely more than a hoarse croak and Jessie doubted that even Jonny had heard the word, but her blood froze in her veins when the creature turned its hideous gaze in the teen's direction. It had heard.

Its body filled the entire hallway to the point that neither of the teens could see what lay behind it. Scaly green skin covered it entire body; foot long claws protruded from its massive hands and feet; claws that looked like they could shred through a person's flesh in a matter of seconds. Bat like wings lay folded across its massive back and framed its monstrous head. Just one look at its head was enough for Jessie to know what it was. A bulbous, octopi-shaped mass sat upon its thick neck and multiple tentacles took the place of the creature's mouth. Each tentacle appeared to have a life of its own as they slashed back and forth in front of the creature's unholy countenance. Its fire red eyes flashed as they locked on Jessie, but suddenly changed to pale spheres of nothingness.

"Who dares to speak my name?" the creature bellowed. The sounds that spewed forth from its hidden mouth were foreign, but somehow they translated within Jessie's mind as soon as they were spoken.

Jessie tore her gaze away from the monster, unable to answer.

"Answer me!" the creature howled.

"I…I know what you are," Jessie squeaked, still unable to look at the monster. She felt Jonny's hand close even tighter around her own.

The creature leaned its head back, an evil laugh spilling forth. Apparently impressed by the two young newcomers, the creature stepped in their direction, all thoughts of its other prey momentarily forgotten. Its claws clicked on the linoleum floor, echoing off the walls with thunderous booms, as it slowly moved closer to the two friends.

"You think you know who I am, human?" the creature asked. Jessie bit back at the sickness that was rising from her throat as the chill from the creature's body, mixed with the smell of dirt and death, drew nearer. "You know nothing of me."

"I know where you come from," Jessie retorted boldly, but her voice still held a quiver of fear.

"Jess, what are you-" Jonny started, but was cut short as the creature came within a few feet of them.

The creature leaned its massive head down towards Jessie, causing her to shrink back from the slimy tentacles that whipped mere inches from her face. "And what do you think that will solve? I will still destroy you and all others that do not serve me."

Jonny cringed as the creature's foreign tongue translated into his mind as well. Terror filled his mind as Jessie, the girl that he loved, defied the monster that stood before them. If her tactic was to lure it away from their fathers, it was working, but Jonny couldn't help but fear that Jessie's actions would set the creature off and it would turn deadly at any moment.

From somewhere deep inside her body, Jessie summoned the courage to confront the being that stood before her. "No one serves you. You are not the master…the book is."

Judging from the creature's reaction, Jessie wondered if she should have made such a bold statement. The words seemed to almost smack the creature right across its sickening face as it reeled back and let forth a deep growl. With a speed that should have been impossible for such an enormous being, the monster shot out an arm towards Jessie, wrapping its claws around her neck.

"Jessie, no!" Jonny shouted and lunged at the creature only to be smacked back by its other massive hand. His body slammed against the wall, sucking his breath from his lungs as he slid down to the cool floor.

Jessie's body shivered as the creature's chilly aura bled over into her body. Her hands gripped two of the gigantic talons, but she could do nothing to tear the appendages from her neck. She gasped silently as she tried to pull breath in through her constricted airways.

"You will die just like the rest," the creature announced. "You dared to speak my name and now you shall pay with your miserable life."

Jessie tried to speak, but all that came out was short, desperate grasps for air. She kicked her legs against the creature's slime drenched body, but the blows had no effect as she was lifted from the ground.

Blackness crept into the edges of her eyes as her quest for air was being cut short. The creature bowed its head so it was only inches from her own and a number of the tentacles slithered across her body leaving wet trails of the greenish liquid spread across her clothes and skin. Jessie shuddered at the touch; fear was quickly taking over her senses as her mind raced to come up with options.

Jonny struggled to his feet, watching helplessly as the creature choke the life from his best friend. His eyes searched the area for something to use as a weapon against the beast, but there was nothing in the immediate vicinity that he could use. His only option to save Jessie leapt to the front of his mind and just as he summoned the courage to sacrifice himself for the girl he loved his movements were halted by the sounds of gunfire.

Explosive booms shattered the stillness of the morgue and served to break the creature's concentration on the girl. More gunshots rang out and ear-piercing shrieks rang from the monster's maw. Its body jerked as the rounds impacted with its back, greenish blood splattering across the stark white walls and floor. The monster released Jessie from its grasp and she hit the ground hard, sucking in deep breathes of air.

"Jessie, Jonny, run!" Race shouted from the other end of the hall.

"Dad, no!" Jessie attempted to yell to her father as she hit the ground hard. Her throat burned from the creature's wicked hold and she feared that her father could not hear her pleas.

The creature had spun around to face its new assailant and Jessie could see the bullet wounds from the previous barrage were already beginning to heal. Within seconds Jessie heard a small clinking sound as the bullets that had entered the monster's body were pushed out and hit the ground with a bounce. She quickly pocketed a couple of the mushroomed bullets.

"You can't kill it" Jessie said to no one in particular as Jonny rushed to her side and helped her to her feet.

The creature stopped between the two groups and let out another horrific laugh. The piercing sound caused the walls to rattle and shook the four humans down to the marrow of their bones.

Benton watched in horror as the monster that was sent to kill him lowered its gaze back onto him. The tentacles that hung from its face darted back and forth, green ooze dripping from the end of each.

"Race, we've to get out of here," Benton urged. Benton's face was flush with pain as he saw his son and Jessie at the other end of the hall, alive but scarred from the creature's attack. With their options limited he saw no possible way to get to the teens from his current position. Race took aim at the creature's head and fired off two more rounds. The results were the same; the creature was momentarily dazed, but it did not fall.

Benton's eyes darted back to the interior of the morgue and fell upon their only chance of survival. "This way," he said. He hoped that if the creature remained fixated on him, Jonny and Jessie would have a chance to escape as well.

"Race, come on," Benton said as he grabbed the other man's arm to pull him in the direction of the morgue.

"Jonny, Jessie, get to the back," Benton ordered as the two men disappeared into recesses of the morgue.

"Jess, come on, we have to get to our dads," Jonny said as he saw his father and bodyguard move back into the morgue, the creature following slowly, but methodically, behind. "This way."

Jonny grabbed his friend's arm and pulled her down a connecting hallway. He was acting purely on a guess, but he hoped that wherever his dad and Race were headed they would be able to meet up with the men further down the hall. The hallway led off to the left from the elevator and then turned sharply to the right. Jonny just hoped that the morgue had a back entrance and that was where the other two were headed.

"What is that thing?" he asked as he stole a quick glance down the corridor on his right; it was vacant.

He felt Jessie shudder, but she did not answer his question. Jonny figured it would probably be better to save the questions until after they escaped. As the two friends hurried down the hall and came to a four way intersection, a sign that hung from the ceiling indicated an exit off to the left. Before they could decide on their next course of action, a door burst open from the corridor to the right. Benton and Race emerged from the door and Race fired off a few more rounds, perhaps to slow the creature down as much as possible.

"Dad, over here," Jonny yelled when he saw his father exit the morgue.

The two men ran towards the kids. Race ejected his empty magazine, letting it fall to the floor as he ran, and quickly reloaded the pistol with another. The creature had not yet emerged from the morgue, but there was no doubt in anyone's mind that it would not stay in there forever.

Benton saw the exit sign and said, "This way. We have to get out of here"

The foursome ran down the hall. The corridor ended in a T-intersection and the exit sign directed the group to the right. At the end of the long hallway was a door with a glowing red EXIT sign above it. Only Race dared to glance behind him to see if the creature was still pursuing. He was a little surprised that the creature appeared, for all intents and purposes to have stopped inside the morgue.

As the four bolted out the door and into the pouring rain they stopped dead in their tracks. A group of people had formed a semi-circle approximately fifty feet from the door. Each person wore an identical black robe, their facial features masked by the heavy hoods over their heads. The man that stood in the exact middle of the line stepped forward. His robe was the same as the others, but he wore a large medallion around his neck. The details of the medallion were impossible to make out in the dark.

"You cannot run from Him," the man said with emphasis on the word "him".

"Get out of our way," Race growled as he pointed his pistol at the man.

"He will find you, no matter where you run to," the man stated, ignoring Race's orders.

"We have to get as far away from this hospital as possible," Jessie murmured so only the three men with her could hear. "It's still coming." Jonny looked at his friend and took her hand in his once again. He could tell that Jessie's dialogue with the ungodly being had shaken her to her core. Relief swept through his body as he felt Jessie's hand tighten in his and she flashed him a very brief smile.

When he heard the fear that was embedded in his daughter's voice, Race became enraged at the man that currently blocked their path. Stepping forward, he pointed the pistol at the man's head. "These bullets may not work on that thing back there, but I bet they'd work pretty good on you."

A short chuckle came from beneath the man's hood. "He will find you eventually. He enjoys the hunt and you will all suffer under His hand…that is unless you join us now."

Race spat rainwater from his face. "Yeah right," and as if to solidify his earlier statement, he cocked the hammer of the pistol. "Let us pass or I swear I'll shoot you dead right here."

Race could not tell what the man's reaction was from beneath the hood, but after a moment of what must have been contemplation, he raised his hands, which were protected by dark leather gloves, and flicked his hands in a backward motion, signaling his followers to part.

"Good choice," Race offered, but the man remained silent. "Come on." Race said to the others as they made their way past the group of strange men.

"This night is just getting weirder and weirder," Jonny said as he followed, still holding Jessie's hand, behind Race and his father. He attempted to look beneath the robed man's hood as he passed, but Jonny could see nothing but blackness beneath. A thought crept into his mind that perhaps there was nothing beneath the robe at all. Shaking the lubricious idea from his head Jonny turned his attention back to Race and his father as they emerged on the street.

The group quickly covered the distance across the parking lost and to the sidewalk. Race's eyes searched the street, looking for a vehicle to "borrow" to aid them in their escape. A loud crash from behind him broke his concentration and he turned, along with the others back in the direction from which they had just come.

The monster still pursued them and it had just burst so violently through the doorway that the metal door was actually bent from the impact. The group of men, upon seeing the creature, dropped to their knees and bowed before the massive beast. As the rain pelted down on it, the monster appeared to grow in size. Race choked back his shock as he watched the thing grow taller and taller and within seconds it stood at least fifteen feet tall.

"Come on," Benton urged as he tore his gaze away from his potential murderer.

Darting down the rain soaked streets Race searched for a vehicle that would be suitable to help them escape. He ran up to an older model Ford Explorer and changing his grip on his pistol, swung the weapon at the driver's side window. The glass shattered and he reached in and hit the unlocking button.

"Get in," he ordered as he climbed into the driver's seat and started fiddling under the steering column.

"Hurry," Jonny begged as he got into the back seat next to Jessie.

The creature appeared around the corner where they had been only moments before and it turned in their direction. Race swore under his breath as his fingers worked frivolously to hotwire the vehicle. He took as much care as possible to make sure he didn't electrocute himself due to his wet hands coming in contact with the exposed wires. The ground outside of the truck shook as the creature strode towards the vehicle. Benton watched as it drew nearer and he grabbed Race's pistol from the dashboard where the other man had set it down.

"Come on, dad," Jessie cried from her seat next to Jonny.

The wires sparked and suddenly the engine roared to life. Race quickly tied the ends of the wires together, threw the vehicle into gear and sped off from the parking spot. The monster howled as it watched its prey speed past it, but it did not give up its deadly pursuit. Race gripped the steering wheel as tight as possible to compensate for the earth shattering vibrations that the monster caused as it ran behind the speeding SUV.

Jessie and Jonny both turned in their seats to watch as the creature ran behind the vehicle. With each step it seemed to gain a little more ground on the group and suddenly it let out a massive cry. Every piece of glass on the vehicle shattered and Benton, Jonny and Jessie ducked and covered their heads with their arms to protect themselves from the flying shards. Race temporarily lost control of the Explorer as the windshield exploded and caught him off guard. The SUV skidded on the slick pavement and it fishtailed into a nearby car. Race let off the gas, compensated for the sudden shift in direction and once all the tires were facing in one direction again, he slammed his foot down on the accelerator, lurching the vehicle forward.

"It's still behind us," Jessie announced to no one in particular as Race pushed the vehicle as fast as it could go. The stolen SUV shot down the deserted street, but it seemed that no matter how fast they went the creature was still with them.

"It's slowing down." Jessie cried out suddenly as she watched the creature begin to recede.

A few more seconds passed and the creature stopped altogether.

"It's stopped," Jonny informed as he and Jessie turned back towards the front of the vehicle.

"Call Phil," Race said to Benton, handing him his cell phone; Race's eyes continued to dart from the rearview mirror to the road ahead and back. "Warn him about this thing."

Even though Race had been perturbed with his superior's less then forthcoming attitude about their current situation, he could not let Corbin fall victim to such a hideous creature without giving the man some sort of warning.

Benton nodded and took the phone. Once he found the appropriate number, he hit the call button. After a number of rings, Benton hung up. "No answer."

"Shit," Race mumbled, concern for his friend evident on his face. "Well, if he's still…alive then he'd probably go back to Intelligence One. We should head there."

"Dad, you don't think that thing got him?" Jessie asked with worry.

"I don't know, Jess, but the only way we'll know is to go back to I-1. We can't keep running in a stolen vehicle and I can't think of any place safer right now than I-1 headquarters." Race spoke the last sentence to his daughter through the rearview mirror. He was no longer watching the road.

"Look out!" Jonny yelled, pulling Race's attention back to the road in front of him.

Race's gaze dropped to the road where he saw the winged creature, illuminated by his headlights, standing in the middle blocking their path. He slammed the brakes as hard as he could, at the same time jerking the steering wheel to the left. The tires squealed and the SUV skidded on its side. Race tried to compensate for his actions, but the brakes were frozen and the truck crashed into a row of parked cars along the side of the road.

The engine stalled once the truck had come to a complete stop. Jessie peered out of the vehicle as the creature stood in place, watching them. Race's head had hit the steering wheel during the impact and a trickle of blood streamed down his face from the wound. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts and vision and quickly reached back down to the wires, trying to restart the vehicle.

The monster turned and stalked towards the vehicle. Jessie shuddered as she watched its slow, deliberate movements. She suddenly knew what it felt like to be a mouse, with the creature outside the ever stalking feline that wanted to play with its victim before the end.

Race didn't dare look up from his task, but his anxiety was too much to control. His hands shook as he tried to strap the wires together, but it was no good. He couldn't make the connection.

"Come on, start damnit!" Race shouted at the vehicle, but his pleas went unanswered.

Out of desperation Race snatched the handgun away from Benton, pointed it out the broken window and fired at the creature. The bullets tore into the monster's flesh, but they did not slow its advance. The creature was only a few feet away from the truck when the last bullet left the chamber and the slide locked itself back. A tentacle lashed out and slapped the pistol from Race's hand. He grimaced from the shock and pain as the slimy tentacles wrapped itself around his wrist and squeezed. Pain shot through the man's arm and he let out an involuntary yelp as he felt the bones in his wrist crack from the pressure. With is free hand Race clawed at the tentacle that held him in place, but due to the slickness of the appendage he could not get a solid grip. Just as he thought his bones would shatter and his hand would be rendered to a heap of useless flesh the creature released its grip on the bodyguard. Race pulled his wounded hand back and cradled it against his chest, his eyes never leaving the monster that loomed just outside his window.

The creature bent down and stared into the vehicle. Ignoring Race and Jonny its eyes moved back and forth from Benton in the front to Jessie in the back. No one spoke. No one knew what to say when certain death stared you in the face.

"I did not think humans could be so….resourceful." the creature announced, apparently amused, and Benton almost expected to see a grin on its face. "This shall be amusing indeed."

Just as the Quest team thought death was upon them, the creature straightened to its full height, flapped its wings and took off into the night.

No one knew how long they sat in the vehicle, staring at the spot where the creature had just stood. The rain started to let up and the wind took one last gush before it died down to nothing more then a whisper.

Jonny turned towards his best friend and met her haunted gaze. His voice broke the tense silence. "Jessie, you spoke to that thing. What was it?"

Jessie shivered as she answered, fully aware that all the eyes in the truck were on her. Her eyes filled with horror as the single word formed in her throat. She said its name again, this time a little louder. "Cthulhu."

To be continued…

Disclaimer: I am adding this disclaimer to the end of this chapter because I did not want to give anything away. Cthulhu and all references to any creatures or the mysterious book are not mine. They are the works of H.P. Lovecraft and other writer's of the Cthulhu Mythos. I am not making any money from their works.

Author's Note: Thanks again to Goddess Evie that made this chapter so much better then what it had started out as. Your editing skills are invaluable and thank you for being so patient with me and all my questions and pleas for help.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or any characters associated with the show

**The New Dynasty**

**Chapter 8**

**By: Sigokat**

"What happened to you?"

Melana shot her sister a deathly stare as she clambered back into the van at the far end of the park. "Just drive, sister."

The edges of Anaya's lips curled into a sly grin as she turned the ignition key, threw the van into drive, and asked with a knowing tone in her voice that grated Melana's nerves "So did you take care of the I-1 agent?"

Melana snorted in disgust at the question as she wiped a thin trail a blood from her lips with the back of her hand. "I would have if some woman hadn't come to his rescue at the last minute."

Anaya turned the van back onto the main road through the park and headed for the exit. "So you let him live?"

"Let, nothing, sister. I assure you he has only been given a temporary reprieve." After a few minutes of silence Melana changed the subject. "So what of the Quests and Bannons?"

"Our new ally drew off from his hunt" Anaya responded with a hushed tone.

Melana gazed at her sister as she took in the new information. "Why?"

Anaya shrugged slightly. "I can only assume it was because he is not at his full strength. Remember he has only just arrived. It was the others that did his work for him before."

Melana gritted her teeth at the news of the setback. "I still think we should have just killed them all outright and not even bothered with all this nonsense."

Anaya shot her sister a look that was icy cold. "Nonsense? We are fulfilling father's wishes by completing his work."

Melana knew her sister was right, but she would never admit it openly. Instead she crossed her arms over her chest and slumped back in her seat. "Where are they now?"

Anaya didn't have to ask what "they" Melana was referring to. "Returning to the summoning portal at the house. It may have been foolish to send them out so soon after their arrival. The book does state that the longer they stay on this plane the more powerful they become; Cthulhu and the other Great Ones just need a little more time before they reach their full potential."

"Well, the longer we wait the more time Quest has to prepare himself now that he is aware of what is after him," Melana retorted.

Anaya detected the anger in her sister's voice, but she did not let if affect her decision to continue as planned. "There is nothing that Quest can do to save himself or anyone else for that matter. He will die, sister."

Melana nodded and smiled evilly at the thought. She was about to respond as Anaya pulled the van into the driveway of the rental house they had established as their base of operations, but found herself speechless at the sight before her.

Anaya hit the brakes hard and the van's aging tires squealed in response to the pressure applied to them. "What the hell?" she whispered as she peered through the windshield of the vehicle.

Standing in the front yard of the rental property was a group of robed men. The sky was dark, but Anaya was sure she counted at least twenty of the darkly dressed figures on the lawn; none of which moved as the van came to a stop.

"Be cautious" Anaya stated as she put the van into park and stepped from the vehicle. Melana did the same and hurried around the front of the vehicle to stand next to her sister. As the two women stood there one figure stepped forward from the group and slowly approached the Zin twins.

Melana peered through the darkness at the approaching man and cursed herself for not retrieving her weapons after the fight in the park. Lacking the weapons to defend herself with, she tightly balled her fists in preparation for a possible attack.

The man stopped a few feet from the women and neither sister was able to make out any physical features of the figure beneath the robe. He wore a large medallion around his neck and he slowly moved his arms away from his body, showing the sisters that he was not holding a weapon.

"Who are you?" Anaya asked when the man did not offer an explanation for his group's presence.

"We serve the Great Ones" the man replied simply.

"What?" Melana sneered at the man's response.

"You possess the book" the man stated. It was obviously not a question.

With no idea of the man's or his follower's true identities Anaya did not want to give any information away. "What book?"

The man snorted in disgust at the woman's question. "Do not play games with us, Anaya Zin." Anaya visibly flinched at the use of her name. "We know who you are and what you have done. You have awakened Dead Cthulhu and his Great Ones. We know you have the book."

"What do you want?" Anaya spat at the man's statement.

"We serve Dead Cthulhu. We have sought the book that would awaken him from his slumber, but it appears your father found it first. We only wish to serve Cthulhu and the Elder Things. So therefore, we have come to offer our allegiance and our services in your fight against Benton Quest."

Anaya was taken aback by the man's knowledge of what she and Melana had thought was a close-kept secret between the two of them. However, the man that stood before them was offering his services to her and Melana and right now she felt that any help would be of great assistance.

"What did you have in mind?"

Even though the sisters could not see the man's face it was as if they could tell a wide grin had formed across his visage. "Well, for starters, we have a plan that you might find rather interesting."

-------------------

Jessie could not stop talking as she and the others returned to I-1 headquarters. The events of the night were beyond belief and Jessie was abuzz with apprehension and anticipation of their new adversary. She continued to babble on, mainly to herself, as the group entered the almost deserted I-1 building and made their way toward Phil Corbin's office.

"Jess, slow down," Jonny said when he was finally able to get a word in as Jessie paused for a breath. "You're going on and on about this thing and you've barely told us anything."

Jessie paused in her monologue long enough to shoot Jonny a look that the boy was unable to interpret. Before she was able to respond, Doctor Quest added in his own thoughts on the matter.

"This entire situation should not even be happening" Benton stated.

"What do you mean?" Race asked as the group entered the waiting elevator.

"Well, Race, as Jessie has stated numerous times, Cthulhu isn't even real."

"That thing seemed pretty real to me, Benton."

Benton shook his head at the man's statement as he continued. "Yes, of course, but the Cthulhu mythos is a collection of fictional writings."

"What do you mean?" Jonny asked.

"Maybe you should have paid more attention in English Lit, Jonny" Jessie said, but Jonny could tell her statement was not made with any malicious intent.

"Sorry, that wasn't my forte" Jonny replied back with a smirk.

"Let me explain" Benton stated as they exited the elevator and headed down the deserted halls towards the office. "Cthulhu is a fictional character creator by H.P. Lovecraft during the late nineteenth, early twentieth century. Lovecraft is considered one of the earliest writers of modern day horror stories; many of which are truly frightening."

"I'm not really following, Doctor" Race said as he listened intently.

"Okay. Lovecraft wrote of a book, the Necronomicon, which was supposedly written centuries ago by a man named Abdul Alhazred, also known as the 'Mar Arab'. The Necronomicon is supposed to reveal the secrets to releasing Cthulhu and the other Great Ones from an endless slumber in the lost city of R'leyh beneath the sea. But, the point of this all is that it's all fiction. It's not real."

"Or is it?" Jonny asked. "Maybe Lovecraft's writings weren't as 'fictional' as everyone believed." Jonny paused for a brief moment to collect his thoughts before continuing. "People always say that there's some truth behind many myths and legends. If Lovecraft knew of the Necronomicon or a similar book he could have included it within his stories and passed the whole thing off as something he made up. Maybe this 'Mad Arab' really was alive at one point in time and maybe he did in fact write this book."

Jessie pondered Jonny's words as the group continued down the halls. If Jonny was correct then there was a lot more they had to learn about Cthulhu and the fabled book that would realize him.

Race knocked on his superior's office door, but it was obvious the other man had not returned since Race could tell the lights were off in the office. Twisting the doorknob revealed that the office was unlocked, so Race let himself and the others in. He knew Phil wouldn't mind, that was of course if the other man was still alive. Flicking the light switch on as he entered, Race went straight for the phone to see if he could reach Phil again.

Jessie sat down behind the man's desk and tried to gain access to the computer. "Damn" she muttered as she switched the system on. "He's got it password protected. You wouldn't happen to know his password, would you, Dad?"

"No, sorry, Jess" Race said as he hung up the phone without getting a response.

"Hmmm. Well I could just-" Jessie said as she started hitting random keys.

"Jess, that's not a very good idea" Race said.

"Well, if I can get online I can get more pertinent information on what we're dealing with" Jessie argued with a slight pout in her voice. "Especially if Jonny is right" she added as an afterthought.

"I still have no idea what we're dealing with" Race said as he turned back towards Benton who was pacing across the front of the room.

"I told you; something that isn't supposed to exist."

"Well it does exist" Jonny stated matter-of-factly. "So what do we do now?"

Benton eyed his son with suspicions and concern, still fully aware that the teen was struggling with even more inner turmoil than the rest of them. "We need to find a way to stop it."

"What of this book?" Race asked. "The Necronomicon as you called it."

"Well again, it was believed to be purely a fabrication of Lovecraft's mind, but as Jonny said, perhaps it's more real than the world believed. After all, it has been written about and portrayed in films countless times since Lovecraft first wrote about it." Benton paused and Race could tell the doctor was contemplating the situation as the older man stroked his beard. In mid stride Benton came to a sudden and frightening revelation. "Zin must have found it."

Jessie's eyes shot up towards the doctor at his latest statement. "That makes sense. He must have found the book while you were working on that project together."

The weight of this new information weighed heavily on Benton and he had to sit down as he felt his knees grow weak. He ran a shaky hand through his hair as he tried to figure out their next step. "Zin blamed all of us for the project being shut down. I can only assume he found the book by accident and wanted more time to study it in its original resting place."

"Is there anyway to stop this thing?" Jonny asked.

Race noticed the blonde headed teen was rubbing his hands together in a somewhat sly and strange manner. He heard an edge in the boy's voice that warned him that Jonny was skating on thin ice and Race didn't want him to go off on his own to trying to save his father. "That's what we need to figure out."

"The book would tell us" Jessie offered.

"Well we don't have the book" Jonny replied a bit too harshly.

Race stepped forward knowing now was not the time for the two teenagers to exchange verbal blows. "We need to find the book, then."

"What if we can't? It seems rather likely that the Zin sisters have the book and they're the ones that sicked that creature on us" Jonny said.

"Look-" Race started, but was cut off at the sound of the doorknob turning. His muscles tensed, but he relaxed only slightly as Corbin walked into the room.

"What the hell happened to you?" Race asked as he took in the sight of the bloodied and bruised man.

Phil stopped in the entrance of the door momentarily, shook his head, and continued on past the group towards the back of the office. "I ran into one of the Zin kids."

"So who won?" Race asked with a smirk.

Phil turned and shot the white-haired man a nasty look. He ignored the question as he went into his private restroom to wash away the blood and dirt.

"Damn, Phil, she sure did a number on you" Race said after following the other man towards the bathroom and watched as he stripped away his torn and bloodied shirts. Race winced at the sight of the bloody gash on the man's chest and watched as Phil cleaned and bandaged the wound.

"It wasn't a fun night" Phil replied in between a grimace and a wince as he applied the bandages. After the bandage was secure he grabbed a clean white t-shirt and threw it on.

"Hey, Mr. Corbin, what's your password?" Jessie yelled over her shoulder.

After a few moments, Phil emerged from the bathroom; he had washed his face of the dirt and blood, but he still looked like hell. Walking over to the desk, Corbin leaned over and typed in his password for the girl before sitting down in one of the chairs on the other side of his desk.

"So what's going on?" he asked.

Benton relayed the events of the night to the I-1 agent filling him in on the details up until he had walked in. Once Benton finished, Phil did the same for what happened to him.

"Sounds pretty crazy, huh?" Race asked when Phil didn't respond.

"With this crew I've learned to accept some pretty outlandish ideas" Corbin said.

Jessie stopped typing and turned the monitor toward the others. "Here's a picture of Cthulhu. Looks pretty similar to what we saw tonight."

"That's not what I saw" Corbin replied after studying the monitor for a few moments.

"What do you mean?" Benton asked.

Corbin shook his head as he looked towards the scientist. "The thing I saw in the parking lot didn't look anything like that."

Benton and Jessie exchanged worried looks.

"So what does that mean?" Jonny asked.

"It means that Cthulhu isn't the only Great One that the Zins summoned" Jessie stated.

"I'm assuming that's a bad thing?" Corbin said half jokingly.

Race decided to change the course of the discussion back to the present. "Okay, so we know that there are multiple creatures out there trying to kill us and that the Zin sister's are controlling them. Phil, you said you were attacked by one of the Zins-"

Corbin nodded, "I don't know which one though."

"That doesn't matter. Were you able to see which way they fled? Perhaps get a license plate number from the van?"

Corbin shook his head. "Sorry, I was too busy trying to stop her from driving a knife through my chest. By the time I had regained my senses she was gone."

"What about that reporter?" Jessie asked. "What happened to her?"

"We headed back towards the hospital, but when we got close and she saw the waiting police she mumbled something about cops and took off before I could stop her. I guess she figured I was well enough to drive myself back" Corbin responded with a forced grin.

"So we've got nothing to go on as far as tracking the Zins" Race said solemnly.

A blank stare had appeared in Benton's eyes as the older man was lost deep in thought. Race wondered if Benton had even heard what the rest of them had been discussing.

Race placed a comforting hand on the other man's shoulder. "Benton, are you alright?"

The physical contact of Race's hand seemed to snap Benton back into reality. "Yes, Race. I'm fine...I was just thinking. Phil, do you have those files you showed us back in Maine?"

Corbin nodded and went to retrieve the briefcase that he had brought back to the office with him. Race watched as his boss moved stiffly, obviously in a great amount of pain from his injuries, and wondered if Corbin was still hiding any information from him. Race decided it would be best to address his superior in private in regards to his suspicions.

Phil handed the files from the briefcase over to Benton and caught Race's questioning gaze upon him, but chose to ignore it for now.

Benton stood and scattered the files across the desk, obviously looking for something in particular.

"What are you looking for, dad?" Jonny asked as he came over and stood next to his father.

Benton shook his head as he continued to filter through the files and after a few moments produced the same photograph that Phil had shown them back in Maine. Benton gripped the photograph as he studied it for a few moments before turning back towards the others.

"I didn't notice it before since the photograph was so old" Benton said in response to the questioning looks that he saw.

"What are you talking about, Benton?" Race asked.

"There's someone missing from this photograph" Benton said as he looked over at Corbin for confirmation.

Phil shrugged. "It's the only one in the file."

"Are you sure?" Race asked his suspicions on high alert again.

"Of course I am, Race" Phil responded. "Remember I wasn't director of I-1 at the time of this project so the file was transferred to me as is."

Race knew Phil's answer didn't quite add up, the man was in charge of Intelligence One after all and he would've been given all the details of any cases that were transferred to the department. "That doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't make sense, Race?" Phil asked.

"You're saying you don't know anything more about this project then what's in that file?"

"Race, I wasn't there. All I know is what I was given" Phil replied, knowing full well what Race was implying.

"Gentlemen, please" Benton interjected. Not only was Jonny's behavior going to have to be watched closely, now Race and Corbin were starting to turn on each other. Benton sighed inwardly at their current predicament. "Fighting isn't going to solve anything. Like I said, someone is missing from this photograph. I can't remember the man's name, but I remember he worked closely with Doctor Zin."

"Is there any type of roster for the project? Anything that could help us find this man?" Jessie asked.

"It's in the file" Phil replied and thumbed through the paperwork searching for the correct document. Once he located it he handed it to Doctor Quest. "Is his name on here?"

Benton scanned the document and felt himself choke up momentarily as his eyes fell across Rachel's name. He now wished he had never volunteered for that damned assignment in the first place. If he hadn't then Rachel would still be alive.

"Dad?" Jonny said softly when he saw his father tense up.

Benton shook the thought from his head, knowing there was nothing he could do to bring his wife back now. "I'm…not sure."

"Why wouldn't he be on the roster?" Jessie asked.

"Give me a second to think" Benton said as he turned away from the desk and sat down on the couch against the wall.

"Are you sure this is the entire file, Phil?" Race asked to break to sudden silence of the room.

"As far as I know, yes, it is."

"You're not keeping anything from us again?" Race asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"For Christ's sake, Race, why would I do that?" Phil retorted, obviously fed up with the other man's constant questioning.

"You kept this from me."

"Race, we've been over that already. Now that things are a little worse then we first anticipated, do you really think I would hold back any information that could help us stop these things? Don't forget that whatever these creatures are they've killed at least one of my agents and another is still missing" Corbin paused momentarily to regain some of his composure. "Race, look at me, I just got my ass handed to me by a woman who's probably half my size, so believe me when I say I want to get the Zin twins just as bad as you do."

Jessie suppressed an uncontrollable giggle at the man's statement and was relieved to see her father's demeanor soften a bit.

"You're right, Phil. I'm sorry; this has just been one hell of a night" Race replied.

"Yes, it has" Phil responded and turned away from the other man. Race figured Phil was probably still on edge, but didn't blame him; after all he had just accused his boss of questionable practices.

Benton stood back up from the couch and walked briskly to Jessie and computer. "I think I remember now. Jessie, see if you can do a search for this man" Benton said as he handed the paper to Race's daughter and pointed out a particular name.

"Jacob Sheppard" Jessie mumbled as she typed in the man's name.

Benton turned towards the others and filled them in. "If I remember correctly, Jacob wasn't in this picture because he showed up to the project after the rest of us. He also disappeared shortly after the explosion and we were told he died in the blast."

"But you think he's still alive?" Race asked; his thoughts turned back to the situation at hand and his interest suddenly peaked at the prospect of a possible lead.

"I'd be willing to bet money he is and if he is still alive, we need to find him because I'm sure he could answer a few of our questions."

"Why do you say that?" Jessie asked as she typed at the keyboard, her gaze remaining on the monitor in front of her.

"Because he was working hand in hand with Zin after he found the book."

"This is all great and everything, but we've neglected one small detail" Jonny said, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Those things are still out there and they're still coming to kill us all. So, what's our next step?"

Benton could here the agitation in his son's voice. Jonny was ready to take matters into his own hands and now that they knew what they were facing it would be that much harder to keep his son in check. No matter what Jonny's current feelings about his father's secrecy of his mother's death, Benton knew that Jonny would stop at nothing to exact his revenge on those responsible for destroying his life. And as much as Benton felt the same way he knew that flying out of control and acting on what little information they had was nothing short of suicide.

"If we can find the Zin sisters then its pretty safe to say that we'll find the book" Jessie suggested.

Race nodded and looked towards Phil, who had moved to one of the far corners of the room and was leaning against the wall. Race could tell the man was tired and it suddenly occurred to him that without rest none of them would be able to make any rational decisions.

"Phil, can you have some of your guys start trying to track down the Zins?" Race asked. He felt that even though Benton knew more about the creatures that hunted them he was obviously still reeling with the enormity of the situation. Race wondered what it was about himself that made it so easy for him to block out the terrors and continue on with the mission. He knew that Phil would be the same way and figured they might as well use Intelligence One's assets to their advantage.

Phil nodded in response Race's question. "I'll have them get on it right now. We'll coordinate with INS and also start looking at local rental agreements. I'll also have them check on any stolen vehicle reports to try and track down that van."

"Jessie, have you found out anything else on this Jacob Sheppard guy?"

Jessie shook her head, but didn't look up from the computer monitor to respond. "It may take some time, but Jonny and I can keep searching."

"I think a few hours rest could do us all some good and then you two can keep searching in the morning" Race stated. He saw the look of disappointment on his daughter' face, but her lack of any verbal objection proved to Race that his daughter was just as tired as everyone else.

"You can use one of the rooms upstairs if you want and I can have some people stand watch as well. I'll have some laptops brought up so you kids can keep searching if you like" Phil offered.

"Thanks, Phil." Race replied. "What about you?"

"I'm going home" he said as he pushed himself away from the wall and stopped Race's objection with a raised hand. "Race, I can take care of myself and I'll be back in the morning. Besides, if that crazy Zin bitch wants to tangle again I'll be ready this time."

Race smirked at the other man's response and wondered what had ever possessed him to think that Corbin had turned against them.

"Sounds like a plan then" Race said.

To be continued…

_Author's Note: Thanks to Goddess Evie for editing this chapter for me. Hopefully, I can get the next one out soon._


	9. Chapter 9

The New Dynasty

**The New Dynasty**

**Chapter 9**

**By: Sigokat**

Jessie rubbed her eyes to fight off the effects of the sleepiness that was attempting to overtake her. She and the others had moved upstairs in the I-1 building to the rooms that mainly served as safe locations for key witnesses. The rooms were sparsely decorated with little more then a bed, dresser, and a desk in each. There was also a small bathroom attached to each room, as well. Against Race's protests Jessie had her own room due to the fact that she was the only female in the group, but Phil had seen to it that they at least were given rooms that were connected in the center by a door. Race had argued for safety, but Jessie won out with her insistence that she have some privacy. She also argued that if they weren't safe in I-1 headquarters, then it really didn't matter. Once Race had finally acquiesced Jessie moved into her room. To everyone's surprise their luggage had been retrieved from the vehicle that Agent Roberts had been driving and it was eventually delivered, along with the government issued laptops to their rooms.

Finally given a moment of privacy to relax Jessie groaned as she stretched her aching muscles. She figured a hot shower would do her some good and maybe jolt her awake so she could continue her searching. She had told Jonny to come see her in about forty-five minutes because she had a few ideas that she wanted to share only with him. She knew her friend was hurting and she figured the more she could do to support him the better he would be. Jessie also figured that Jonny wasn't too happy about being locked up in a room with Race and his father, the latter of who Jonny was still visibly upset with.

After retrieving a few items from her luggage Jessie moved into the bathroom and after turning the shower to a temperature as hot as she could tolerate she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her emerald green eyes appeared to have lost some of their elegant shimmer, but she attributed it to exhaustion. Thinking back on the night's events, an involuntary shiver ran down her spine.

"What are we going to do?" she asked aloud, but was answered only by the dull stare from her reflection.

* * *

Race flexed his hand, attempting to work out the soreness and pain that was spreading through his extremity ever since the creature called Cthulhu had wrapped its disgusting tentacle around it. The dull, burning pain was continuing to mount and Race noticed that the areas of his skin that the creature had come in contact with was starting to swell as well as turn a sickly pale, greenish-yellow color. He wiggled his fingers back and forth, concentrating so intently on his injury that he didn't Jonny watching his actions.

"You alright, Race?" Jonny asked, moving to sit next to his bodyguard on the edge of the bed.

"Huh?" Race mumbled and quickly tried to conceal his wounds from the boy. "Oh yeah, I'm fine, Jonny. I think exhaustion is finally catching up to me." Race glanced up at the wall clock mounted on the far wall and saw that it was already after two in the morning.

Turning towards the teen he saw a dullness in Jonny's eyes that he knew was not caused by any form of physical exhaustion. "What about you, kiddo? How are you holding up?"

Jonny shrugged and turned his head away from Race's inquiring gaze. "I'm fine."

Race had spent far too long with the Quests to believe that Jonny's answer was actually legitimate. "Jonny, look you know you can talk to me, right? You're dad's still in the shower so if you have something you want to say, but don't feel comfortable saying in front of him-"

Jonny cut the big man off before he could finish his statement. "There's nothing to talk about, Race. I'm fine, really."

"Jonny-"

"Just leave it alone, alright?" Jonny snapped and saw his bodyguard actually flinch at the fierceness of his words. He stood and faced away from the man, choosing instead to stare out the windows of the small room that he was being forced to share with his father and mentor. Jonny felt like a prisoner; trapped in a room for his own protection, yet not being trusted enough to contribute to the matter at hand. He was furious at his father and at the predicament and the last thing he wanted was to be patronized by someone that had absolutely no idea what he was going through right now, even if that person was Race Bannon.

Race stood, momentarily forgetting his own physical injuries, and stepped towards the troubled teen, but before he could advance any further a knock from the door that connected their room to the room Jessie was staying in broke the tense silence.

Jonny turned at the sound of the knocking and smiled briefly as Jessie popped her head through the door. "Everything good over here?" Jessie asked, obviously aware of the tension in the air.

"Everything's fine, Ponchita," Race replied with a sigh, knowing that he wasn't going to get anything out of Jonny now.

Jessie nodded. Her features showed that she wasn't convinced by her father's words, but she turned her attention to Jonny instead. "Hey, Jonny, you ready to do some more searching?"

"Jess, Corbin's people are already thoroughly engaged in trying to track down the Zins," Race reminded. "I think you kids should try to get some sleep."

Jessie's lip curled into a small pout, but she pressed her father anyway. Jessie was still angry with her father, but she had decided to put aside her differences with him in order to help her friend. "Dad, there's just a few ideas that Jonny and I came up with that we want to try. Besides, I'm not very tired at the moment."

"Same here," Jonny replied as he moved past Race and met Jessie at the door. "We won't be long."

Race crossed his arms over his chest, but decided to let the kids have their time together. Besides, they were only next door, so what could possibly go wrong? "Alright, but make it quick."

Jessie smiled as she opened the door wider for Jonny to cross over into her room. "You got it, dad."

As the door shut, Race fell back down on the edge of his bed, running his hands through his hair and behind his head. With everything that had transpired since leaving Maine Race was pleasantly surprised that things weren't as bad as they could have been.

* * *

"So what was that all about?" Jessie asked as she shut the door, turning to face her best friend.

Jonny shook his head at the question. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Jessie knew that ever since Doctor Quest had revealed the circumstances surrounding their current situation and the death of Jonny's mother, Jonny had been struggling with an inner turmoil. On one hand, Jessie knew for a fact, that Jonny loved and trusted his father, but on the other hand the blonde headed teen was struggling with a sense of betrayal and hurt from his father not revealing the real truths behind what happened to Rachel Quest.

Jessie could tell that pressing Jonny any further at the moment would just push him farther away from her than he already was. Once they dealt with the Zin sisters and the creatures that they commanded, Jessie would take the time to sit down with Jonny and figure out just what was going on in the boy's head. For now she needed him to help her with her plans.

"So what do we do now?" Jonny asked when he saw that Jessie wasn't going to pursue an in-depth discussion into his feelings.

"Well I've been thinking that while Intelligence One and our dads may be on the right path as far as tracking down the Zin sisters, I believe their efforts are too broad sweeping."

"What'd you mean?"

Jessie sat at the desk, opened the laptop, and started her web searching. "Well, I think it's safe to say that the Zins have been here for some time and have probably been operating from a nearby location."

"Sounds plausible," Jonny agreed as he pulled up a chair next to Jessie.

"They'd want to remain relatively inconspicuous, staying out of the spotlight since I doubt Intelligence One is the only federal agency that would like to get their hands on them." Jessie was in the zone now and continued her explanation as she typed away at the computer. "A search of low income neighborhoods with rental property narrows the search-" Jessie paused in her monologue as she waited for the information to load on the screen.

Jonny sat in silence as the two friends searched for their adversaries' location. He hated to admit it, but Jessie's conclusions seemed spot on and it was obvious her competency and intelligence in working with computer systems far surpassed anything he could come up with. Jonny knew he was no dummy and perhaps his thought process was currently clouded with his anger, hurt, and frustration with his father, but seeing Jessie so dedicated to her work was encouraging and Jonny felt a slight flutter in his stomach as thoughts of his feelings for the girl came back to the front of his mind.

Jonny's daydreaming must have been apparent on his facial features because he noticed Jessie was giving him a rather strange look. Blinking, Jonny came back to focus and shot the girl a crooked smile, "What?"

"You wandering again, hotshot?"

Jonny rolled his eyes, but gave her another genuine smile. "Jess, I-" but again his statement was interrupted as the screen finished its loading and beeped its confirmation.

Jessie turned back towards the computer and continued. "Well it looks like we've narrowed the possibilities to a few neighborhoods in the outer D.C. area. Now this will be a long shot, but-" Jessie paused again as she opened a new window and typed in more information.

"What are you searching for now?" Jonny asked.

"Well, Mr. Corbin described the van that tried to run him down in the hospital parking lot and I've been thinking that perhaps it wasn't actually a stolen vehicle."

"Huh?"

"What if it belongs to someone in one of those neighborhoods?"

"That is a long shot, Jess."

Jessie grinned as new information popped up on the screen. Crossing her arms over her chest she turned to her friend and saw the awestruck look on his face as he stared at the new information on the screen. "Long shot yes, but sometimes long shots actually come through."

Jonny stared at the name of a man who not only owned a grey cargo van that fit the description of the suspected vehicle, but also was the landlord of a rental property in one of the neighborhoods from the earlier search.

"You've got to be kidding me," Jonny mumbled.

"Sometimes the answer to a complex problem ends up being the simplest solution."

Jonny squinted his face at the girl's remark. "That sounds like something Hadji would say."

"And if Hadji was here right now what would he tell us?"

Jonny contemplated the question briefly. "He'd tell us we should give this new information to our dads."

"But-"

"But we don't have time for that and if it turns out to be a false lead, we'll have wasted valuable time on a fool's errand," Jonny replied, knowing full well what Jessie was implying.

"So what do you think?" Jessie asked. She knew that the right thing to do was to tell their dads, but she also knew how helpless Jonny was feeling at the moment and wanted to do all she could to help her best friend out.

"I think we need to get out of this building and find a cab."

* * *

An hour later Jonny and Jessie climbed out of the cab on a deserted street in one of the poorer districts of the nation's capital. Leaning into the cab window Jonny handed the cab driver the fare.

"You kids sure this is where you want to be?" the cabbie, an older man with graying hair and the beginnings of a pot belly, asked.

"Yep. This is the place," Jonny answered as he waved away the man's attempts to give him change.

"Well, be safe and watch your backs out here, especially at this hour." And with that the cabbie drove off at what appeared to be a faster speed than was probably allowed by the law.

The two teens watched the cab as it disappeared around a corner. Jonny had actually told the cabbie to drop them off a couple of blocks away from the house they were headed to, so as they tightened their jackets around their bodies they headed off in the direction of the rental property. A few minutes later they came upon the house in question. The building was a small, two story structure with a security fence concealing the backyard. As the teens approached it was obvious the house was in desperate need of repairs, but a quick scan of the neighborhood told the teens that this particular house was really no different then the others on the block.

"Slumlords," Jessie mumbled in apparent disgust at their current surroundings. Jonny raised an eyebrow as he looked at her from the corner of his eye, but otherwise said nothing.

The teens found a suitable hiding place behind a large tree that stood near the road in front of the neighboring domicile. Even though it was well into the morning hours Jessie and Jonny were blessed by the fact that the moon was full and illuminated much of their immediate surroundings. Jessie pointed towards the house and even in the darkness Jonny could see the smile that spread across her face.

"There's the van.," Jessie stated as she pointed to the vehicle in the driveway.

"There's _a_ van" Jonny corrected, "We don't know for sure if it's the same one."

"Well, hotshot, there's only one way to find out."

Before Jonny could respond Jessie stepped, out from behind the tree and sprinted towards the vehicle. Cursing under his breath, Jonny quickly followed behind the girl. A few strides later the two teens came upon the vehicle and quickly crouched behind it, safe from any view from the actual house.

"The window is shattered and look at this," Jessie said as she closely examined the back of the van. "Bullet holes."

"Well, that jives with Mr. Corbin's story," Jonny agreed. "So, this is the place."

Jonny felt a swell of anger building up inside of him at the realization that they were so close to finding the people responsible for not only his mother's death, but the current attacks on his family.

"We should head back and let our dads know," Jessie said as if she suddenly realized coming to this house alone and unarmed wasn't the brightest idea in the world.

"Let's see if we can get a look inside first," Jonny suggested, already moving around the van towards the side of the house. "Maybe we can get that cursed book and be done with this all tonight."

Jessie sighed, and followed. As long as they were here they might as well gather as much information as possible.

"Come on" Jonny urged, mindful of staying low and out of sight. Upon reaching the front of the vehicle a quick glance towards the door showed no signs of life and the two sprinted towards the building.

A dirty window was set in the side of the house at just the right height for the teens to have a look inside. Rubbing some of the dirt from the glass, Jonny was able to view the interior of the building. The room was void of human life and with the exception of a couch, a throw rug, and a small television set it was barren as well. Just as Jonny was about to turn away and look for another window a light in a far off room came on, illuminating whatever lay beyond the room.

"I think someone's coming," Jonny whispered, as if his voice could have been heard from inside the house.

"Let me see," Jessie said and quickly wiped away a small area of the window as well.

As the teens stared in anticipation, muffled voices could be heard slowly approaching the empty room. Moments later the Zin twins appeared, followed by two men that neither teen recognized. One of the men wore a robe similar to the ones worn by the men outside the hospital and Jonny wondered just what type of alliance the Zins had formed. The other man was clothed only in a white t-shirt and a pair of slacks, but the look on his face gave the appearance of someone that was drugged or mentally ill. He was a younger man with reddish brown hair and a hawkish nose. Even through the muddy windowpane the teens could tell that the man's eyes stared off into the distance, obviously vacant of any real world perceptions that surrounded him.

"So how is this to work?" one of the Zin sisters asked.

A quick examination of the two sisters showed that the one who stated the question must have been the one that had not been involved in the fight with Corbin as the other sister bore a number of cuts and bruises.

"We will release him in the morning as planned," the robed man responded.

"And you're sure this will work?" the bruised sister asked, her tone dripping with doubt.

"Of course," the man replied, undeterred by her question. "We will release him and then make an anonymous call to the authorities. They will pick him up and once his identity is verified he will be returned."

The sisters appeared to accept the man's proposal as they raised no further objections.

Jonny fixated his gaze on the only member of the group that had not spoken and wondered if the others were speaking about that man. He was so intent on trying to hear more of the conversation that he found himself actually leaning into the window, as if he could hear or see more the closer he got. Without knowing what he was doing, Jonny accidently bumped his forehead against the pane of the glass.

"What was that?" the first sister asked.

"Outside," the robed man replied. "Look at the window…spies!" he shouted the last word so loud that the window almost shook.

"Damn it, Jonny," Jessie hissed as she realized they had been discovered. "Come on, we have to get out of here."

"Get them," the banged up sister shouted as they headed for the front door. "Anaya, release our allies."

Jonny cursed his idiocy as he and Jessie ran off towards the street. "Damn."

They heard the front door slam open and a quick glance over her shoulder revealed to Jessie that more robed figures had appeared.

"There they are. It's the Quest and Bannon kids," The injured sister, Melana, shouted. "Catch them…NOW!"

A group of robed men darted from the house and took up chase. Jonny and Jessie ran as fast as they could, but since they were unfamiliar with the neighborhood their options were limited.

"Good job, Quest," Jessie scolded in between breaths for air.

"You can reprimand me later; let's just get out of here first," Jonny replied and cut through a nearby alley. The narrow passageway ended with a chain linked fence and the two teens could see an abandoned lot on the far side of the fence. Off in the distance a tree line marked the beginning of a small forest.

The sounds of approaching footsteps alerted them that their pursuers were quickly gaining on them and they scrambled up and over the fence just as the first robed man appeared back at the entrance of the alley.

"This way," the man shouted to his compatriots, but the teens were already sprinting across the overgrown field.

A sudden drop in the temperature chilled the teens to the bone and they both exchanged worried glances; they're human attackers were no longer their main concern. Jonny shot a look back towards the alley and saw that the group of men had stopped on the far side of the fence, having decided they no longer needed to chase down the teens.

"Things just went from bad to worse," Jessie stated.

A hideous screeching sound filled the dead silence of the early morning and the two friends froze in place, their limbs unwilling to respond to further commands from their brains; sheer terror had taken over. The ground shook, causing the friends to dart around simultaneously in the direction of the sound and approximately two hundred feet away stood another hellish abomination that the Zins had summoned. It wasn't Cthulhu, but whatever it was it was just as foul and hideous as the other Great One.

"Run!" Jonny ordered and pushed Jessie, causing both the teens to break their terror inducing bonds and flee for their lives.

The creature took up pursuit, choosing to run after its prey instead of taking flight. Jessie could only imagine it was actually toying with her and Jonny, knowing the kids had no where to run. Cutting through the uneven grass, Jonny came upon a shallow dip in the ground and found a small drainage system. Where it came from or where it let to didn't matter at the moment. He jumped down into the ravine, landing in a stream of dirty water and took Jessie's hand. The thumps of the creature's footfalls grew nearer with each passing second and Jonny pushed his body as hard as he could. He felt Jessie's presence right behind him and knew that she too was running for her life.

As dawn approached a thick layer of fog was beginning to surround the abandoned field, giving the teens the impression that the world around them had suddenly come to an end and no living creatures existed accept themselves and the creature that was hunting them down. Neither teen dare take a moment to look behind them; they knew the creature was still in pursuit since the air grew colder and colder as they hurried forward and a foul stench filled their nostrils. The creature let out a ghastly shriek as if to let the two friends know that there was no escape.

Jonny's eyes widened as they continued to run down the drainage passage and fell upon a narrow cylindrical pipe that had been covered by overgrown foliage. A quick decision led the teen towards the pipe, knowing that it could hopefully provide them a means to hide. If it couldn't then it no longer mattered.

"In here," Jonny said as he reached the entrance to the pipe and quickly dropped to his hands and knees and crawled inside. The filthy water that came in contact with his hands was cold and murky and Jonny was glad that the pipe did not have enough light to show what other smaller creatures might be currently inhabiting it.

The pipe was the end of the drainage system and about twenty feet in the teens came upon a rusty steel grate. They were trapped. Jonny grasped the cold, rusty metal in his hands and yanked with all his might, but the bars did not budge; they had been securely emplaced within the pipe to prevent large debris from passing through the system. Jonny huddled against the steel grate, drawing his knees up against his chest as he turned back to watch the entrance of the pipe. Jessie scurried up next to him and the two teens huddled together; cold, wet, and scared, but hanging on to a small shred of hope that the creature had not seen them enter the pipe.

After what felt like an eternity Jonny let out a long sigh, unaware that he had been holding his breath. "You okay?" he whispered to Jessie as they huddled together, arms wrapped around each other as much for protection as for warmth.

Jessie nodded, "You think it's gone?"

"I don't know, but-"

A thunderous rattle shook the interior of the pipe before Jonny could complete his sentence and another devilish shriek filled the air. The confined space of the tunnel seemed to trap the sounds and it echoed louder and louder against the interior of Jonny and Jessie's makeshift shelter. The pale dimness of morning that hung close to the ground just before the sun decided to rise was quickly extinguished from their view as the creature suddenly appeared outside the pipe. Jessie clamped a hand over her mouth to prevent her terrified scream from escaping her lips; her limbs shook uncontrollably and she leaned in tighter against Jonny's protective hold. She wanted to close her eyes against the unholy sight, but terror kept them open and staring at what was sure to be her doom.

The monster shrieked as its fiery red eyes locked onto the teens. It tried to advance, but quickly realized that it was too large for the pipe. The creature let loose another shriek, but this one ended in a low growl, as if it was expressing its frustration at being unable to reach its prey. A slimy tentacle, attached to the creatures arm, whipped down the tunnel with lightning speed, but to the teens' relief it was not long enough to reach them.

The creature continued to growl as it gazed at the teens and Jonny found himself losing control of his thoughts due to its hypnotic gaze. Before the creature could take control of the boy completely Jonny shook the evil thoughts from his mind, and clawed desperately through the muddy and murky water that he sat in. His hand found a medium sized rock and Jonny hurled it down the pipe at the creature. Due to the awkward angle at which he threw it, the rock had barely any momentum and it bounced harmlessly against the pipe instead of reaching its intended target. Jonny couldn't be sure, but the next sound that emanated from the creature sounded almost like laughter.

Unable to take the strain and terror anymore, Jessie shouted at the thing before them, "What do you want from us?"

"Death," was the creature's only response. Just like the other encounters the creature's words echoed in Jessie's mind, and from the look on Jonny's face she was sure he had received the same message.

The creature broke its gaze from the teens and turned its ugly countenance skyward. Jonny could see that the light filtering into the drainage pipe from around the creature was quickly growing and it seemed that the creature was staring off at the rising sun. After a few moments it turned its gaze back on the kids and spoke within their minds once again.

"You cannot escape. We will get you eventually. Nothing escapes the Ancients."

Without another word the creature stepped away from the pipe, spread its bat-like wings and took flight. As soon as it had taken off the temperature began to return to normal. For a long moment the only sound that filled the pipe was the heavy breathing of the two teens. After a number of minutes the light at the end of the pipe was bright and vibrant. As the two friends slowly crawled out of their hiding place the songs of birds could be heard. The brightness of the day engulfed Jonny and Jessie as they climbed shakily out of the pipe and quickly looked around them. There was no sign of the creature or its human comrades.

"Let's get out of here," Jessie suggested.

"No argument here," Jonny agreed and the two friends headed away from their latest encounter with little more then a renewed sense of fear and terror.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note: Thanks again to Goddess Evie for editing this chapter for me. I hope the wait was worth it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or any works of H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. I am making no money off of this and it is purely for fun and enjoyment.**

The New Dynasty

Chapter 10

By: Sigokat

Race awoke to a burning pain in his arm and as he threw the covers off of him he discovered the wound where the creature had wrapped its slimly tentacle around his wrist was festering. The area was blotched with patches of dead skin surrounded by dark green circles that seemed to grow darker in color as it spread further out from the initial contact site. Race flexed his hand and found that his fingers moved stiffly, but with more flexing the burning sensation that had been moving through his hand and forearm began to subside. Race felt a small sense of dread as he realized that such a wound could become deadly serious since the source of the infectious was a supposedly fictitious creature created in the mind of a horror writer.

Climbing out of bed, Race saw that the sun had already risen and quick glance at the alarm clock next to his bed told him it was just after seven AM. A quick glance around the room showed Dr. Quest was still asleep, but that Jonny was nowhere in sight. Race felt his pulse quicken and after verifying that the bathroom was unoccupied he made his way to the door that connected the their room to Jessie's room. Race knocked, but when there was no answer he tried to doorknob which was unlocked as Race had instructed Jessie to keep it in such a state in the event of an emergency. Stepping into his daughter's room Race found the room vacant and a flood of emotions ranging from anger to fear to all out panic coursed through the man's body.

Turning back to his own room he saw Dr. Quest was beginning to stir. "Benton," Race said in as flat a voice as he could muster, "We have a problem."

Dr. Quest sat up and was rubbing the last remnants of sleep from him eyes when his bodyguard's word hit him. "What's happened?"

"Jonny and Jessie are gone."

-------------

Cold and tired, Jessie and Jonny wandered into the lobby of the main Intelligence One headquarters building. After what felt like an eternity, the two teens had ventured out of the drainage pipe they had hid in to avoid the deadly creature that stalked them from the Zin sisters' house. After seeing that no more threats awaited they quickly found their way to a friendlier neighborhood and caught a cab back to I-1.

"You know are dads are going to kill us, right?" Jonny said as he made his way past the security checkpoint with the temporary ID badges that Corbin had provided all of the family members.

"Yeah, I know. But at least we got some information." Jessie replied, trying to sound optimistic.

"Let's just hope they see it that way as well." Jonny grinned as they made their way into the elevator and rode to conveyance up.

As soon as the doors swished open the two friends were hit by a wave of chatter and activity. Jonny sighed outwardly, "Looks like our dads already know we're gone." He said as he stepped out and made his way to Corbin's office.

Once the two teens wandered into the area, a young woman, probably a secretary to the I-1 director saw the kids and immediately picked up the phone while at the same time pointing the kids to head into the office. Jessie and Jonny nodded in unison to the woman and pushed the office door open.

On the other side of the door they found Race and Dr. Quest in a total state of panic within Corbin's office. Race's face was flushed with anger as he was exchanging heated words with his superior, probably blaming the other man for the kids' ability to leave the building.

"Um…" Jonny said loud enough to get the attention of the three men in the room.

"Jonny! Jessie!" Dr. Quest exclaimed as he came over to the two teenagers. "Where in the world have you two been?"

"We went out to do some investigating." Jonny replied trying to stay as cryptic as possible till the men calmed down.

"Investigating?" Race fumed. "Of what? Why on earth would you two leave without telling anyone where you were going?"

"We didn't want to disturb anyone." Jessie replied half-heartedly but she knew her dad wouldn't buy it.

"You two kids are out of control!" Race hollered. "There are things out there trying to kill you and you leave without telling anyone. Not to mention I don't even know how you two were able to leave." Race added with a glance back at his boss, who had not said a word since the two teens entered his office.

"Race, please." Dr. Quest said, trying to restore some order. "What's important is they are back and safe." Dr. Quest gave the two kids a once over, possibly seeing for the first time the state of their clothes and the cuts and scrapes on their faces and hands. "What happened to you two? Where have you been?"

"Well," Jessie started. "We were able to find a rental property on the internet that happened to be owned by a man that also owned a grey van like the one that Mr. Corbin saw at the hospital. We went to check it out, figuring if it was just a false lead then it would be better to have not wasted anyone's time in following a false trail."

"Why didn't you call?" Race exclaimed.

Jessie just shrugged, not really having a good reason for not calling once they had discovered the house.

"And what did you find?" Race asked his daughter, anger still visible on his face.

"Well, it wasn't a false lead." Jessie said. "The Zin sisters were there as well as a group of men that looked similar to the ones at the hospital last night. They saw us and chased us."

For the first time Corbin spoke up, "Where was this house?"

Jessie gave the man the information and Corbin left the office immediately.

"What else happened?" Dr. Quest asked.

"Well, as the men chased us we had to hide in a drainage pipe because another creature appeared and chased us through a field."

"My god." Dr. Quest mumbled. "Was it the same one? Was it Cthulhu?"

Jonny shook his head and visibly shudder. "No, it was a different creature. Who knows how many of those things are out there!"

"All the more reason you two should have never left!" Race threw in.

"Dad…" Jessie started but her father cut her off.

"No, Jessie, this is serious business. You two cannot be running off and not telling someone. You two could have been hurt or captured or killed and none of us would even know! This behavior is too much, even for you two!"

Jonny felt himself being fed up with all the lecturing he and Jessie were receiving. "Race, we did what we thought was necessary." Jonny turned his attention towards his father. "Just like how you, dad, thought it was necessary to not tell me the truth about mom!"

"Jonny, that's not fair." Benton sighed, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Really, Dad? That's how you feel? Well, I think you're wrong and nothing you can say can make it better. The only thing now is to get those Zin sisters and make them pay for what they did!" Jonny spat out as he headed for the door, flinging it open and nearly running straight into Corbin as he was trying to walk back in. Jonny snorted as he moved back into the office, momentarily stopped in his path.

Corbin glanced at the boy, shook his head and walked back into his office. "I have people headed to that house now. But I'm a little worried that we may be too late."

"Why's that?" Race asked.

"Would you stick around if you knew your location was compromised?" Corbin asked the other man. "If they have left, hopefully we can find some evidence of where they went to at least."

"We headed there now?" Race asked, rubbing his wounded hand.

"We can." Corbin said, his eyes narrowing as he noticed the other man's attempts at hiding his hand.

"Well, let's get moving then." Jonny said.

As the group moved to leave, Corbin stopped Race, holding the man back as the others left the office until they were alone. "What's wrong with your hand?"

"Nothing. What are you talking about, Phil?"

"You keep rubbing your hand and wrist like something is wrong. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Phil, honestly." Race replied.

Corbin studied the man for a moment longer then nodded. "Alright, but if something happened you better tell me."

"Will do, boss." Race said with a smile.

--------

After a short ride the group found themselves back at the house that Jessie and Jonny had visited in the early hours of the morning. Just as Corbin had feared it looked as if the Zins had left in a hurry. Various I-1 agents, as well as I-1 SWAT members mingled around the outside of the house, having already secured the area before the others had arrived.

Agent Roberts came up to the group as they exited the vehicle. "Whoever was here already left in a hurry." He reported. "But there are some strange things within the house and the backyard as well."

"You didn't happen to find a large, rather ominous looking book, did you?" Jessie asked.

The agent stared at the girl, somewhat caught off guard by the question. "Um, no, why?"

"Forget it." Corbin said, waving his hand dismissively. "Show us what you did find."

Agent Roberts led the group into the entryway of the house and once again the chill that was at the previous crime scene hit them immediately.

"Guess this is the right place." Race murmured as he shrugged his shoulders to protect against the cold.

"The house itself is pretty barren." Roberts said over his shoulder as he walked through the hallway. "Nothing significant really except the amount of garbage and the stench, it's hard to believe people actually lived here."

"Was there any evidence left behind?" Race asked the other agent.

"If you mean in regards to where they could have gone, not yet."

"What about the creatures?" Jessie asked.

"Excuse me?" Roberts said, as he stopped and turned back towards the group, looking at his boss for some sort of hint at what the girl had meant.

"Nevermind. Thanks, Roberts. We'll take it from here." Corbin said.

"Sir?"

"Go back to the office, Roberts." Corbin stated with a firmer voice. "Get back to searching for Jacob Sheppard and his possible whereabouts."

Roberts huffed, but did not argue with his superior. "Yes, Sir." He said as he moved back passed the group.

"And call me the moment you have some information." Corbin said to the man as he walked passed, placing a hand on the man's shoulder.

Roberts nodded. "Of course, Sir." And with that the group was alone in the house.

"Sorry." Jessie said. "I forgot that he wasn't there when the creatures appeared."

"Don't worry about it." Corbin said to the girl. "He's probably still mad that you showed him up on his language skills yesterday. Roberts is one of my best linguists."

Jessie smiled, "Well, he was wrong."

"I know." The man replied.

They found themselves in the kitchen and just as Roberts had said the room was filled with excessive amounts of trash. "I never would have though the Zins would be dirty people." Race said.

"Well, who knows who or what else was in this place." Jonny said.

Corbin kicked a pile of trash gently with his toe and jumped back as a decent size rat scurried out from the pile. He looked at the rest of the group and said, "I don't think the Zin sisters were living here. This must have been a place where they could perform whatever rituals they needed to summon those hellish creatures. They probably lived somewhere else in the city."

Dr. Quest stroked his beard as he took in the information. "That's possible. Agents Roberts mentioned the backyard as well. We should look back there."

"Good idea, Benton." Race said and led the group out the back door. A couple agents were finishing up their investigation in the yard, in the vicinity of a small shed in the back.

One of the men nodded to Corbin and the group and said, "You'd think this was a scene out of a bad horror movie or something. We left it as is for you to see, Sir, but as soon as you're done we will mark all the evidence." He kept moving in a hurried pace.

Race pulled the door of the small shed open and stepped inside. Race sucked in his breath as he took in the scene. "This must be the place." He said as the others crowded into the small shed as best they could.

The floor of the shed was just dirt, but a circle had been drawn into the dirt along with an inverted pentagram. Hanging from the ceiling was a thin wire with clothespins attached to it. One of the clothes pin held a family photo of the Quests and the Bannons.

Jonny stared at the photo with disgust. "How in the world did those crazy bitches get a hold of this picture?"

Corbin knelt down next to the circle and examined it more closely. "I'm imaging that during the ceremony this hole becomes some sort of pit that the creatures venture out of."

"That's insane, Phil." Race said.

"Anymore insane then everything else that has already happened?" Corbin asked, glancing back at the other man.

"Well…good point." Race said with a short grin.

"Look," Corbin said as he pointed at the inner edges of the circle. "That looks like the same green substance that was found at the scenes of the murders."

Jessie started thinking aloud, "So, the Zins get their hands on the Necronomican, figure out how to summon these creatures from whatever hell they came from, and set them upon their intended victims at will. What chance do we have to fight these things?"

"I bet Hadji would know what to do." Jonny said.

"But he's not here and I'd rather we kept him out of this." Benton said. "No point in adding another target for the Zins to hunt down."

The group continued to study the eerie shed in silence until the ringing of a cell phone broke through the air. Everyone jumped at the sudden noise as Corbin stood and retrieved the phone from his pocket.

"I thought you lost that." Race said to the other man.

"I'm the director of Intelligence One." Corbin said as he looked at the phone. "I get issued these things as if they were going out of style."

"Great use of the taxpayers' money." Race smirked.

Corbin gave the other man a chiding look, but replied, "You know it, boss."

Corbin stepped out of the shed to take the call, but stuck his head back in almost immediately. "They found Agent Holton."

"What?" Race said, "Where?"

"He was wandering in one of the parks, dazed and barely clothed. The local police have him at the hospital now so I'll be heading over there to meet him and his wife." He handed the keys of the sedan to Race. "I'll take one of the other vehicles, so just head back to the offices when you're done here."

"Got it." Race nodded as he took the keys and watched his boss head back to the front of the house. Once the other man was out of sight he turned back to the others. "So, now what?"

Dr. Quest shook his head, "I don't see how we are going to find the Zins at this point. Hopefully, Corbin's people can locate them, but who knows. I think our best bet is finding Jacob Sheppard."

"If he's still alive." Race added.

"Oh, I believe he's alive," Benton said, "with every passing moment I believe more and more that he alive. The problem is determining what side he is on."

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Yeah I know it's been a very long time since I updated, but life has been busy. This chapter is meant to be more of a reintroduction to the story, for both myself and whoever reads it. I just hope to get the rest knocked out soon. And for those that were hoping Hadji would be in a Cthulhu themed story…just wait…it's not over yet. ;-)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or any works of H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. I am making no money off of this and it is purely for fun and enjoyment.**

Chapter 11

_Undisclosed Location_

Anaya glared across the room at her sister, who had been pacing and fuming with rage for the last hour. Anaya wanted to lash out, tell her sister to calm down, but she knew it would be a futile gesture. The last thing Melana would want to hear is how their situation had gone so wrong so quickly. Anaya sighed, which caused Melana to stop midstride and stare daggers towards her twin.

"What?" Melana growled.

Anaya shrugged, but figured it was time to speak up. "We have to come up with a new plan."

"What do you think I'm working on?" Melana shot back.

"Well, it's obviously not working. The cult is getting anxious and if they decided to unite against us…"

Melana spat out her response, "So what? They know they cannot rise against the keepers of the book."

"They want the book, you know that."

"They are the least of my concerns right now, sister." Melana retorted as she clasped her hands behind her back. "It's the Quests that are of concern."

"You should have killed the I-One agent when you had the chance. Without him backing their efforts they never would have found us."

"Don't underestimate the Quests, Anaya." Melana replied. "They're resourceful, even without the help of Intelligence One's information network."

Anaya rolled her eyes at her sister's attempt to excuse her lack of action the previous night. "The Quests wouldn't even be here if you hadn't of gotten sloppy!"

"You cannot blame me for what happened at Steinbeck's place."

"You shouldn't haven summoned such powerful entities so soon! You knew better but you got greedy, Melana. And now we have the Quests and the US government on to us!"

Melana felt her inside boiling with anger at her sister's accusations. She suppressed the urge to let loose her anger against her kin by biting down on her lower lip, hard enough to draw blood. Before she could counter Anaya's claims the other Zin continued on.

"And now since you couldn't even manage to take out Phil Corbin when you had the man by the balls, they've tracked us down. They probably already know about the book too!"

"He was and is of little concern, Anaya." Melana grumbled. "Doctor Quest and his family are the main targets; I care nothing for the others right now. But arguing about this now will do us no good. We have to keep moving. They'll surely find this safe house soon as well."

"We need to get out of sight for awhile." Anaya agreed. "But the priest Cthulthu…"

Melana waved a hand dismissively, her cockiness and arrogance in regards to her mastery over the creatures was too much for Anaya's liking. "We'll go to ground for a few weeks. Let the Quests' investigation dry up and then we will strike when they least expect it."

Anaya grinned devilishly at the thought. "And what of the cult?"

"We'll let them think they have a say in how we summon the Great Old Ones, but they are nothing more than pawns."

_Intelligence One Headquarters_

Upon returning to the Washington D.C. Headquarters of Intelligence One Jessie felt a sudden wave of exhaustion course through her body. She realized that both she and Jonny had gotten barely any sleep over the last forty-eight to seventy-two hours and it was starting to wear her out. She followed behind her father and Doctor Quest as they navigated the maze of halls and corridors of the secret government building, finally making their way back to the Director's office.

Race spoke to Corbin's secretary and was informed that Corbin had not yet returned from the hospital. "Well, what now?" Race looked at Benton for some guidance.

"We should try and get some rest. Let our minds relax and absorb all that we've learned. It's my understanding that Corbin has a team working on tracking down Sheppard and right now I think that he's our best lead."

"Unless Corbin can get any information from Agent Holton at the hospital." Jonny added, fighting off exhaustion as well.

Race turned back to the secretary and asked her to have her superior contact them as soon as he arrived. She nodded and wrote down the message. "He knows we'll be upstairs." Race added and then turned back towards the others.

"Is there nothing we can do until then?" Jessie asked, wanting to do more than just sit around waiting on others.

"I think you two have done enough for the moment." Race said and Jessie thought she heard a tinge of anger creeping back into her father's voice. "Doctor Quest is right, we'll be no good if we can't function, so some food and rest is what we all need right now. Corbin will let us know when he's back."

Jessie huffed but didn't argue. She glanced at Jonny and was frightened that the same raw anger that had been in his eyes back in Rockport that fateful morning this all started had returned. She realized that as the adrenaline rush wore off, Jonny's thoughts must have returned to his rage at his father's lifelong lies. As if to confirm her suspicions, Jonny snorted and strode off towards the elevators to head back to their temporary rooms on the top floor.

"Jonny," Benton called after his son.

Race placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder as they headed off after the boy. "Give him some time, Benton. You know he'll come around."

Benton sighed as the hurt he caused his son was in the limelight once again. "I hope so, Race."

**JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ**

Jonny ignored the calls of his father as he continued up the stairs towards the temporary rooms of I-One. Things had calmed down for the moment and the last thing he wanted to take part in was another one sided talk with his father about what had happened so far. So he pressed on, arriving at his room and entering and slamming the door without even a look back towards the rest of his family.

Once inside he felt safe. Safe, but alone. He knew that keeping his anger pent up inside of him was unhealthy, but there was no one to talk to at the moment. Jessie would try and listen, but she would just make excuses for his father and that was the last thing Jonny wanted to hear. He strode over to the bed and collapsed on to it in a heap. He wanted to yell, to cry, to curse the world, but he didn't. He just brooded, staring at the wall and envisioning the faces of Zin and his daughters, relishing in the thought of avenging his mother's murder upon those most responsible.

Without realizing his actions, Jonny retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the first number on his speed dial. He had no idea what he would say, but he needed to hear a familiar, nonjudgmental voice.

After five rings the other line picked up, "Hello? Jonny, is that you?"

Jonny sighed and his voice was weaker than he expected it to be, "Hey, Hadj."

His adopted brother, Hadji Sultan of Bangalore, could detect something was amiss in his brother's voice. "Jonny, is something wrong?"

Jonny snorted out a laugh, "You can say that, Hadji."

"What is it?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"You are a lot of things, Jonny Quest, but you are not a liar."

"Typical, Hadji." Jonny said and suddenly felt his muscles relax, the tension leaving his body.

"So what is happening there?"

"Hadji," Jonny hesitated, unsure how to start, but before he could formulate a thought the words just started to pour from his lips. "Dr. Zin killed my mom and now his daughters are here and trying to kill dad and the rest of us."

"Jonny, slow down," Hadji interrupted. "I can be on a plane in an hour."

"No, Hadj. You can't come here. It's too dangerous. Dad didn't even want me to call you. The Zins are fixated on us here and I can't let you come here and put yourself in danger as well."

There was a brief moment of silence on the other end of the line and then Hadji spoke, "What happened? To your mother?"

Jonny bit back tears and a hard lump had formed in his throat. "Zin killed her. All those years ago and dad knew the whole time. Didn't tell me the truth because he said he was protecting me. Damn him."

"Jonny, he would never do anything to hurt you. You know that in your heart, my friend."

As much as Jonny didn't want to hear those words, coming from Hadji they did not sting as much as he would have thought. "I know, Hadj, but it…it still…hurts." He was on the verge of full blown tears.

"Jonny, yes it does and it will." Hadji wasn't sure what else to say, but being wiser than his seventeen years of age he knew that sometimes silence was the best solution.

With those words, Jonny let it all out. He cried so hard that his whole body shook, he ached with pain and feelings of uselessness and hopelessness. He continued to cry till there were no tears left. He had no idea how much time had passed, but when he felt he could speak again, his voice was a hoarse croak, "Hadji?"

"I am still here, Jonny."

Jonny sniffed and wiped his cheeks with his sleeve. "I'm going to kill them myself."

Hadji knew better than to say what he really wanted to say, patronizing Jonny would do nothing but insult and degrade the other young man. "Yes, Jonny. What about Jessie?"

"What about her?" The question caught him off guard.

"She is your friend as well, Jonny. Do not push her away when you need her in such a difficult time."

"What makes you think I've done that?" Jonny replied, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"We may be adopted brothers, but we are still brothers. I know you better than you think, Jonny Quest." Jonny visualized Hadji's lopsided grin on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, Hadj. I guess so." A knock at Jonny's door interrupted the conversation. "Hadj, someone is at my door. I'll call you when we get more details. We are kind of in a state of limbo at the moment."

"Let me know what you need of me at any time."

"Will do, Hadji." Jonny said as the outsider knocked again, "And, Hadj…"

"Yes, Jonny?"

"Thanks. I need this."

"I know, my friend. Keep my up to date."

"Bye, Hadji."

"Good bye, Jonny."

Jonny shut the phone off and shoved it back in to his pocket as he got up to answer the door. As he reached for the doorknob is realized that he hadn't even told Hadji that they were being pursued by supposedly fictiuous creatures that lived under the sea and were summoned by the Zin's with the assistance of a mystical book. 'I'll call him back later.' Jonny said to himself as he opened to the door to find Jessie on the other side.

Jessie saw how wore out her friend looked; she could tell he had been crying, but she acted as if she didn't. "Hey, my dad is going to order pizza, what do you want?"

"They deliver pizza to I-One Headquarters?" Jonny asked trying to make light of the situation.

Jessie shrugged, "One of the I-One underlings will probably go get it for us."

"Must be nice having perks like that. Jess," Jonny started, but stopped, wondering if this was the right time.

"What's up?" 

Jonny shrugged and grinned his sheepish grin that he knew she loved, "Sorry I've been such an ass to you since this all started."

Jessie smiled and it warmed Jonny's heart. "Don't worry about that, hotshot. Just tell me what you want on your pizza or else my dad's just going to order it with pineapple and anchovies again."

"You're dad is so weird." Jonny said as he followed her out in to the hallway.

"You're telling me!" Jessie said and suddenly the two were just a couple of teenagers again, putting all thoughts of death, monsters, and hell-spawned books out of their minds.

**JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ**

Benton glanced at the wall clock in the common room where he and his extended family had just finished a late lunch. He was weary and realized it felt much later than the time said it was. It was only early in the afternoon, but with all the events that had happened so far, it was the first bite of downtime they had been able to take. Benton glanced at his son, Jonny and he felt his heart ache as he realized how callous his actions had been in keeping so much information from the boy. But as he watched his son and Race's daughter fight over the television remote he felt a wave of relief that they were currently safe and even if only for a few moments Jonny was able to act like the kid that he still was.

Race was cleaning up the remains of the pizza boxes, surprised that had all devoured the food so quickly when he phone rang. Digging it out of his pocket he looked at the caller ID on the display.

"It's Phil." Race announced to the others as he answered the phone.

Jonny and Jessie both turned their attention to the bodyguard as they listened to one side of the conversation.

"Is he alright?" Race was asking. "What could he tell you?"

Another pause then, "I don't think that can help us at all."

"Okay," Race said in reply to the other end of the phone. "Do you think that's a wise idea?"

Another long moment of silence, "If you say so, Phil. Agent Roberts? Okay, I'll talk to him. Okay. Will do. See you later." Race hung up and turned towards the group.

"Well, there doesn't seem to me much we can do right now." Race stated as he sat back down at the round table with Benton. "Phil said that Agent Holton was delirious at the hospital. Barely knew his own name, let alone what had happened at Steinbeck's house. The doctors at the hospital said he was also suffering from dehydration and had an unknown substance in his bloodstream, which they are currently trying to analyze. Phil convinced them, as a matter of national security, to send a sample here so you can take a look, Benton."

"National security, huh?" Benton quipped.

"Phil has more pull in this town than he lets on, that's for sure." Race said of his boss.

"So what now?" Jonny asked.

"He said to stay here and get some rest. He practically ordered me to do so. He said he had some things he had to take care of and that he'd be back later tonight or in the morning."

"Is that wise on his part?" Jessie asked, she had always liked her father's boss. "He's just as much a target now as we are."

"That's what I said, but he has some personal business to take care of." Race replied. "Mainly he had to go pick his daughters up from school and take them somewhere safe."

Benton blinked. "I'd forgotten he had children. He never mentions them anymore." Benton had been so engrossed by his own matters when Corbin had arrived at the Quest Compound that he had forgotten to even ask the I-One agent how his family had been doing.

"Well, you did make that hearing device for his youngest, Benton." Race said as he patted the older man on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it though; he knows you have other things on your mind right now."

"Hearing device?" Jonny asked. He had never met Corbin's children.

"His youngest is hearing impaired. It's why he knows sign language." Race said. "Anyways, he said to stay put and get some rest and that Agent Roberts would let us know when the sample arrives or if any other developments happen throughout the night."

"I hate being cooped up in this place." Jessie said.

"No running off again in the middle of the night." Benton instructed as he stood and stretched, suddenly feeling very tired. He reminded himself to ask Corbin about his family when he saw him again later. "We should try and get some rest. We're safe here and like Race said, they'll let us know is something happens."

Jonny grumbled, but gave no argument. He actually wanted to have a chance to call Hadji back without his dad finding out.

"Let's all try and get some rest then. I'm going to call Roberts and let him know I talked to Corbin." Race said as the others filtered out of the room. As he turned to go, Race felt a chill run down his spine and his injured wrist began to throb and burn. He examined the injury site and saw the skin turn a deep shade of red and he noticed that small blisters were forming on the contact site. He flexed his fingers and felt a short cry lodge in this throat as his eyes saw what seemed to be movement under the skin. Squeezing his eyes shut and then slowly opening them again, Race looked back at his wrist and saw nothing moving. 'My mind is just weary from all this.' He convinced himself, but in the back of his mind, he knew he had seen something wriggling around under his flesh, possibly trying to get out.

To Be Continued….

**A/N: Again, another long period of no posting, I apologize for that. This chapter again, is a bit slower, but in the next chapter there will be more action and more forward movement. Please read and review but most of all I hope you all enjoy. **

**I started to familiarize myself with Lovercraft's stories again as I planned out the rest of this story. There are some things I want to go back to in the earlier chapters and fix, but I haven't' done so yet. When I make the corrections (minor corrections by the way, nothing drastic to change the storyline) I will post that I have done so. **


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